ENT - Stapedectomy

What is a Stapedectomy?

In your ear, behind your ear drum there are three very small bones that are used to bring sound in from the outer ear to the inner ear.
These bones are called ossicles and in order for the sound to travel, the ossicles need to vibrate. Sometimes the stapes (the last bone in the chain of ossicles) can become fixed by too much bone forming and can’t vibrate. This is called Otosclerosis and can often be fixed by doing a stapedectomy.

A Stapedectomy is when a surgeon removes the Stapes from behind the eardrum and replaces it with a prosthesis (a piece of plastic or metal) that will vibrate like the stapes should and continue to move the sound to the inner ear.

What are the risks/complications of a Stapedectomy?

Hearing Loss

A stapedectomy is done to improve hearing but there is a very small risk that the operation could make your hearing worse if there are any problems during or after the surgery. There is approximately a 1 in 100 chance of all hearing being lost in the ear which has been operated on.

Dizziness

You can sometimes feel dizzy for a couple of weeks after this operation and if there are any complications, the dizziness may last longer.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a ringing, buzzing or other unusual sound which can occur in one or both ears. After an operation on the ears, there is a small chance that you will experience tinnitus, but this may improve once the ear has fully recovered.

Abnormal taste

The nerve that supplies the taste buds in the tongue can sometimes be affected by surgery. Patients sometimes experience a metallic taste or a numb feeling on their tongue, but this usually improves over time once the post-operative swelling and bruising has settled down.

Facial weakness

The nerve that moves the face is close to the stapes. It is possible for this nerve to be injured during this operation although very unlikely. The risk of this is less than 1 in 1000. If the nerve were injured, you may not be able to move your face on the side of the operation. This could be temporary or permanent.

After the operation

After the operation, when you feel well you will be allowed home, usually on the same day. You will need a friend or relative to pick you up and to stay with you overnight for the first night. There will be some dressings in your ear after the operation and some cotton wool in your ear to keep the dressings in place.

If the cotton wool becomes dirty or wet, you can change this yourself, being careful not to disturb the other dressings. You should keep your ear dry by placing cotton wool with Vaseline rubbed into it into the bowl of your ear when you bath or shower until told otherwise by the doctor.

You must avoid straining or lifting for 6 weeks after the operation as this could make the prosthesis move or cause damage to the ear.

We recommend that you do not travel by aeroplane for 3 months after your operation so that we can be sure that everything has healed and that the changes in pressure when flying won’t cause any damaging effects.

Contact Numbers

If you have any questions or problems, please contact:

Rachel Parks
ENT Specialist Nurse
rachel.parks@nca.nhs.uk

Ear, Nose, and Throat (E.N.T.) Dept. 0161 206 4758