Vol.97 No.11
contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 97 No.11 November 2004
Perilymph Fistula Caused By Paracentesis:
A Case Report
Shingo Kakimoto and Makoto Miyamoto
(Osaka Prefecture Saiseikai Noe Hospital)
Kouhei Kawamoto
(Osaka Kita Post and Telecommunications Hospital)
Masayuki Furukawa, Kazuhito Yoshinaga and Toshio Yamashita
(Kansai Medical University)
A 39-year-old female was diagnosed with left acute otitis media and had paracentesis. Because she had continuous vertigo immediately after the paracentesis, she was sent to our hospital. At first she was treated with conservative therapy, but the severe hearing loss, dizziness and tinnitus worsened, so she underwent surgical exploration of the tympanic cavity 10 days after the onset. During the surgery, there was no dislocation of the ossicle, but perilymphatic leakage from the oval window was observed. The window membrane was repaired with temporal fascia and fat. Although her dizziness disappeared completely, her tinnitus persisted. However, the tinnitus disappeared with time and the hearing loss gradually recovered. This case was possibly a medical accident, but it is important to recognize that perilymph fistula is one of the complications of paracentesis, and when it occurs, it must be diagnosed accurately.
Key words : perilymphatic fistula, paracentesis, exploratory tympanotomy, medical accident