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Karkas et al (2009) report that despite more than 4,000 articles addressing stapedectomy and more than 350 addressing stapedotomy available in Medline, there were no articles comparing left versus right with regard to surgical outcomes. The authors note that the majority of articles available (via Medline) address refinements such as increasing success rates while decreasing complications.
Therefore, Karkas, Chahine, Righini and colleagues retrospectively reviewed 894 cases of unilateral otosclerosis (474 right ears, 420 left ears) from three surgeons between 1974 and 2006 to see whether the side of the operation (right versus left) impacted the results. They also evaluated pre and 4-months-post-op changes in air bone gaps and bone conduction thresholds.
The authors note that less experienced surgeons tend to prefer operating on the same side as their dominant hand. For example, right-handed surgeons generally prefer operating on the right side. However, as experience is gained, the preference for operating on the dominant side diminishes and apparently vanishes.
With regard to post-op air-bone gaps, there were no statistically significant differences in right versus left ear outcomes. With regard to post-op bone conduction thresholds, there were no statistically significant differences in right versus left ear outcomes. With regard to functional differences between right versus left stapes surgery, no differences were found.
For More Information, References, and Recommendations
Karkas A, Chahine K, Righini CA, Khirnetkina A, Schmerber S. (2009) Right Versus Left Stapes Surgery: Is There a Difference? Otology & Neurotology. 30(8)1067-1070.