Ossicular Chain Reconstruction With Titanium Prostheses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

ObjectivesThis review sought to establish expectations for hearing improvement with specifically titanium partial (PORP) and total ossicular replacement prostheses (TORP) to give surgeons an acceptable goal for postoperative hearing results and to counsel patients on their expected results.Databases ReviewedMEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library.MethodsA systematic review of the literature was performed per the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Three databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library) were searched using relevant key search terms to identify studies evaluating outcomes of titanium prostheses. A title/abstract and full article review was then done, and the results from the remaining studies were analyzed with Review Manager 5.4 Software to perform a meta-analysis using a random-effects model.ResultsForty articles were analyzed after full article review based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. For PORPs, the average improvement in air-bone gap (ABG) and pure-tone average were 12.1 and 13.5 dB, respectively. For TORPs, the average improvements in ABG and pure-tone average were 16.7 and 17.0 dB, respectively. Preoperatively, the average ABG was 7.0 dB better for PORP than TORP patients, and postoperatively, the ABG improved an average of 4.9 dB more for the PORP cohort. Seventy percent of PORPs and 57% of TORPs subjects had a postoperative ABG less than 20 dB.ConclusionsOverall, reconstruction of the ossicular chain with titanium prostheses reliably improves patients' hearing outcomes, and this study gives relevant information for counseling patients preoperatively on realistic hearing outcomes.