Balloon dilatation eustachian tuboplasty: a clinical study.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To assess the feasibility of balloon dilatation eustachian tuboplasty (BET) as an option for treatment of patients with eustachian tube (ET) dysfunction.

STUDY DESIGN

Ethics approved case controlled interventional study.

METHODS

Eight patients were identified with poor ET function using a ET score and were assigned to the study. The endoscopic procedure involved the dilatation of the cartilaginous and bony portion of 13 ETs with a balloon catheter. Pre- and postinterventional computed tomography was performed. All patients were reassessed 1, 2, and 8 weeks after BET.

RESULTS

BET was technically easy to perform. No damage to essential structures, particularly the carotid canal, was found in the human study. Patients revealed a significant improvement of the ET score comparing pre- and the 2-month post-treatment results. Improvement was found to be time dependent.

CONCLUSIONS

This newly introduced method of BET was found to be a feasible and safe procedure to inflate the ET. It significantly helped to improve ET function in our study group. However, larger long-term studies are necessary to fully evaluate the clinical value of BET.