Pneumolabyrinth and positional vertigo after stapedectomy

Late pneumolabyrinth after stapedectomy

“…The presence of horizontal left beating nystagmus on left gaze while the head was tilted 30 degrees forward did not corroborate with the HRCT findings that did not show any air in the left lateral semicircular canal. Mandala et al had also reported a discrepancy between clinical and radiological findings [5]. This can be explained by the change of position of air bubbles according to the head position during physical exam and while doing the imaging.…”

“…Twenty-seven cases of pneumolabyrinth were published in the literature [5][6][7][8] and the most common causes were traumatic injury followed by poststapedectomy cases. Pneumolabyrinth within the first week after stapes surgery is not considered as a complication [7].…”

“…Only two case reports are published in the literature on pneumolabyrinth as a delayed complication of stapes surgery [4,5]. The first case was described in 2001 by Scheid et al; a 56-year-old woman who presented 16 years after a left stapedectomy with disequilibrium, aural fullness and intermittent tinnitus.…”

“…The diagnosis of pneumolabyrinth was made on HRCT. A surgical repair was done with sealing of the oval window area with fascia [5].…”

“…Pneumolabyrinth has been previously reported as a complication of temporal bone trauma or stapes surgery in the English literature [2,3] however it has only been reported twice as a late complication of stapes surgery [4,5].…”