Laser myringotomy with the CO₂ Otoscan laser

Tympanic ventilation is the treatment of choice for otitis media with effusion (OME). CO₂ laser myringotomy has already proven its value and is finding increasing clinical application. The ventilation time in the middle ear is essentially determined by the size of the laser perforation. Perforations exceeding 2 mm in diameter enable tympanic ventilation for about three weeks and thus compete with the ventilation tube in the treatment of OME. IN a prospective study, laser myringotomy is performed in 84 children with OME with the new CO₂ laser otoscope Otoscan. The closure time was 17 days in average for a preformation diameter of 2 mm. In the further clinical course, the ear-drums healed without atrophic scar formation. In an observation period of six month the recurrency rate of effusion was approximately 10 percent. Laser myringotomy seems to be an useful method in the operative therapy of secretory otitis media.