Incus reposition: goblet prosthesis.

A stainless steel goblet shaped prosthesis is used to attach the repositioned incus to the stapes. A two year follow-up was made of the first 116 patients in which the prosthesis was used for ossicular reconstruction. The incidence of extrusion and ankylosis is diminished, and 75% of all cases had closure within 10 db. An additional 20% had closure within 20 db of bone conduction thresholds. Revisions have been less with this technique than with others: 40% of 116 patients had an uncomplicated tympanoplasty; 60% had a tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy. The results are, of course, more favorable in the group without mastoidectomy. Of these, 86% had closure to within 10 db of bone conduction level. These findings suggest that the use of the goblet prosthesis results in improved hearing. These findings conclude that the use of the goblet prosthesis results in better hearing than that obtained with other methods of ossicular chain reconstruction.