Abstract:Objective To explore the surgical method for one-stage removal of cholesteatoma complicated with labyrinthine fistula, and evaluate the long-term hearing changes and therapeutic effect.Methods Clinical data of 41 cases suffering from cholesteatoma complicated with labyrinthine fistula surgically treated in our department from Aug 2014 to Aug 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. The diagnosis of cholesteatoma complicated with labyrinthine fistula was preoperatively confirmed by careful history taking, fistula test, endotoscopic examination, pure tone audiometry and high-resolution thin slice CT of temporal bone. One-stage complete removal of cholesteatoma stroma covered by labyrinthine fistula was performed in all 41 cases. The relationships between hearing changes at the postoperative visit and long-term hearing changes and the size of the fistula were analyzed, and the accuracies of various diagnostic tests were evaluated.Results Preoperative examination and intraoperative exploration revealed external auditory canal cholesteatoma complicated with labyrinth fistula in 12 cases, and middle ear cholesteatoma complicated with labyrinth fistula in 29. The difference between the preoperative bone conduction threshold (35.5±11.6)dB and that at the postoperative visit (42.1±12.8)dB was statistically insignificant (P>0.05). Of 5 cases with postoperative bone conduction hearing loss more than 10 dB, the preoperative average air conduction threshold was greater than 90 dB in 3. In 5 cases with obvious preoperative hearing loss, the fistulae were intraoperatively found to be significantly larger than those without hearing loss (P<0.05). Postoperative follow-up for 12 to 72 months revealed recurrence in none.Conclusion Although the total removal of cholesteatoma stroma of large labyrinth fistula is relatively risky, it is safe and effective to choose one-stage complete resection of cholesteatoma stroma in order to reduce the recurrence of cholesteatoma and the continued hearing loss after surgery.