Introduction: Comparing bone conduction thresholds before and after stapes surgery in most cases reveals a reduction of preoperative bone conduction loss not only around 2 kHz (Carhart notch) but in the entire audio range. Postoperatively, a maximum threshold rise in the low and middle frequencies (500-3000 Hz) is seen.The present study was devised to determine if there is an increase in bone conduction after removal of a fixed stapes footplate without a prosthesis in place. Methods: Stapedectomy under local anaesthesia was performed in 24 patients with otosclerotic stapes fixation. We compared the bone conduction of preoperative audiograms with intra-operative thresholds measured directly after removing the footplate using a bone conduction transducer at test frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kHz.
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