Experiments on cochlear cryosurgery in the guinea pig. Light and surface microscopy.

The present investigation indicates that with cryosurgery it is possible to produce well defined cochlear lesions. The point of complete ablation can be chosen at will. A great advantage also is the fact that the bony capsule of the labyrinth is left intact. The remarkably slight scarring caused as well as the morphologically intact walls of the cochlear duct indicate an effective healing process, already completed after 6 days. These findings explain the unsuccessful clinical experiences when trying to ablate the labyrinth completely or to induce labyrinthine fistula with the help of cryosurgery (House, 1966). We suggest that for studies on cochlear function after exogenic trauma, cryosurgery gives easy reproductive morphological changes that may help the understanding and correlation of hair cell loss with cochlear physiology.