Key Points
- Transcanal endoscopic ear surgery avoids a postauricular incision,
which has been shown to minimize pain and numbness.
- Our studied assessed how much patients value minimizing pain and
numbness relative to other postoperative outcomes.
- Cross-sectional anonymous surveys were distributed to patients asking
them to rate various postoperative outcomes.
- Patients placed very high value on minimizing pain and numbness after
ear surgery, nearly as much as a good hearing outcome.
- These patient-centric outcomes are important in justifying the
minimally invasive approach of transcanal endoscopic ear surgery over
traditional postauricular microscopic middle ear surgery.