The endolymphatic sac operation for Meniere's disease

Between 1977 and 1982, 306 endolymphatic-mastoid shunt operations were performed using 5 different sac-mastoid shunting procedures: decompression, simple incision, 'L' incision, silastic sheet, and silicone penrose drain sheet. However, no significant difference in outcome was noted among the various procedures used. The overall results revealed that 9 percent of the patients were improved (AAOO class A), 69 percent had vertigo improved but hearing unchanged (class B), 6 percent had vertigo controlled but hearing worsened (class C), and 16 percent had vertigo not controlled (class D). Our results again show that the endolymphatic-mastoid shunt operation is beneficial to patients with intractable Meniere's disease, but this does not depend on the sac procedure employed.