The versatility of the basic microscope system in otolaryngology.

The operating microscope is now an essential tool for a large number of surgical procedures in a wide range of disciplines. At many medical centers, the optical equipment is often shared by surgeons from several disciplines. The expansion of microsurgical interest will continue to be interdisciplinary in the future, and this will call for microscope systems that are sufficiently versatile, both optically and mechanically, to meet the needs of surgery on a wide variety of anatomic structures. The development of the current range of microsurgical procedures in otolaryngology is presented to illustrate the concept of versatility by demonstrating the expansion of microsurgical technique to many regions of the head and neck. The key to this versatility has been the interchangeable objective lens system (200-400 mm), which allows a working distance appropriate to the depth of the various surgical approaches and which also allows the free transfer of microsurgical skills and instrumentation to new procedures.