Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), there were an estimated three to five million cases of Ménière's disease in the United States in 1998, with nearly 100,000 new cases diagnosed annually. In...
most cases only one ear is affected, but as many as 15–40% of patients are affected in both ears. The onset of Ménière's disease occurs most often in adults between the ages of 20 and 50. Men and women are affected in equal numbers.
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Definition
An endolymphatic shunt is a surgical procedure in which a very small silicone tube is placed in the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear to drain excess fluid.
Purpose
An endolymphatic shunt is placed as part of the treatment of Ménière's disease, a disorder of the inner ear whose causes are still unknown. Ménière's disease is characterized by the following symptoms:
a rise in the level of endolymphatic fluid in the labyrinth of the inner ear
hearing loss that comes and goes
a sensation that the environment or oneself is revolving or spinning (vertigo)
ringing, buzzing, or hissing noises in the ears (tinnitus)
a feeling that the ears are blocked or plugged
Endolymphatic shunt surgery is one of the surgical procedures available to treat Ménière's disease, which is also known as endolymphatic hydrops. The surgery is based on the theory that the disorder causes the inner ear to become overloaded with fluid and that draining this fluid will relieve the symptoms. The fluid is drained by opening the endolymphatic sac, a pouch located next to the mastoid bone at the end of the endolymphatic duct. The endolymphatic duct is a canal that leads to the inner ear.
From http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/endolymphatic-shunt
Other Information
The decision to undergo ear tube surgery should be discussed carefully with the doctor, ... A variety of factors go into this decision. If you think putting tubes in the child's ears is going to improve developmental outcome at age 3, the answer is: no, it won't.
-Jack Paradise
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