MICROFIBROENDOSCOPY OF THE EUSTACHIAN-TUB E

The development of extremely minute high performance optical fibers ha ve made possible fibroscopic examination of the Eustachian tube. We ha ve developed a microfibroendoscopic technique since 1987 to explore th e Eustachian tube and the tympanic cavity without opening the tympanic membrane. This technique has been used in 125 patients with chronic o titis. The exploration is performed in the operating theatre during a tympanoplasty procedure. Patients are placed in supine position under general anaesthesia. Endoscopic exploration of the Eustachian tube has demonstrated that tube obstruction is very rare, encountered in only 2% of our cases. The major advantage of the technique is the direct an tero-posterior visualization of the middle ear. Viewing the middle ear from this anterior view point, the surgeon can analyze regions unatta inable with other techniques. The future challenge for this technique is to achieve the goal of non-invasive surgery of the middle ear.