Laboratory Animals > Volume 43, Number 2 > Pp. 198-204

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: la.2008.007152v1 43/2/198    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Stieve, M Articles by Lenarz, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Papers

Experimental middle ear surgery in rabbits: a new approach for reconstructing the ossicular chain

M Stieve ¹ , H J Hedrich ², R D Battmer ¹, P Behrens ³, P Müller ⁴ and Th Lenarz ¹

¹ Department of Otorhinolaryngology; ² Institute of Laboratory Animal Science and Central Animal Facility, Medical University of Hannover, Germany; ³ Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Hannover, Germany; ⁴ German Research Centre for Biotechnology, Braunschweig, Germany

Corresponding author: Martin Stieve, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Hannover, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, D-30625 Hannover, Germany. Email: stieve.martin{at}mh-hannover.de

This experimental animal study aimed at evaluating a new prosthesis to replace the ossicular chain; we developed a new technique for surgical implantation into the middle ear of rabbits. The rabbit middle ear is, owing to the relative anatomical dimensions involved, an ideal environment for implantation procedures involving the ossicles, as the surgical conditions are similar to those of the human middle ear. This study included a total of 34 approximately six-month-old female white rabbits (New Zealand) weighing between 3.2 and 4.4 kg. The implants used were constructed of ceramic materials (titania, TiO₂) of various pore sizes. Directly prior to implanting the total ossicular reconstruction prostheses (TORPs), as well as at 28, 84 and 300 days after implantation, electric response audiometry was used to determine the hearing thresholds of the animals (bone conduction; click stimulus nHL). An erbium:YAG laser was used to excise the original ossicular chain. Following implantation, we were unable to detect any stenosis of the outer ear canal or perforation of the tympanic membrane. The conductive hearing threshold was in the range of 4.21 ± 6.68 dB nHL (n = 131). The hearing level showed no significant difference before and after surgery (P < 0.05).

Key Words: Ossicular chain prostheses • experimental middle ear surgery • brain response audiometry • rabbit

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?