Vol.96 No.8 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 96 No.8 August 2003
Perilymphatic Fistula; A Report of 8 Cases
Kaheita Hirasugi, Fumiaki Nin and Susumu Nakae
(Matsushita Memorial Hospital)
We have encountered 8 cases of perilymphatic fistula (PLF) during the past 5 years (1997～2002).
PLF is not a rare disease in the daily otological practice, so physicians must keep this disease in mind when examining patients complaining of vertigo. However, it is difficult to make a diagnosis of PLF.
If PLF is suspected from various clinical symptoms and examinations, exploratory tympanotomy shoud be performed to diagnose PLF definitively.
We encountered a case of PLF with otosclerosis, and one case of recurrent PLF.
We analyzed the manifestation, examination, tests results, therapeutic results, and difficulty of diagnosis in all 8 cases.
Comparing the idiopathic PLF patients with the traumatic PLF patients revealed that the former patients tended to take quite a long time before coming to our hospital due to development of symptoms, and that they finally underwent exploratory tympanotomy.
We noticed that the shorter the disease course, the more the hearing level improves.
To prevent recurrence of PLF, we emphasize the importance of covering with fascia both the round window and the oval window, regardless of lymph leakage.
Key words : perilymphatic fistula, diagnosis, exploratory tympanotomy, otosclerosis, recurrence