Simultaneous bilateral mastoidectomies: A safe alternative to a two-stage procedure

Introduction: We report our experience with simultaneous bilateral mastoidectomies on 1 8 patients who underwent bilateral simultaneous mastoidectomies. Materials and Methods: Chart review of patients who underwent tympanomastoidectomies since 2002 revealed 1 8 patients who underwent bilateral simultaneous mastoidectomies. Results: Of the 1 8 patients, none had any complications from the surgeries that would have been avoided by staging the procedures. Of the 36 operated ears, 34 of them had the same or better hearing postoperatively. Discussion: This article re-emphasizes the safety of performing bilateral simultaneous tympanomastoidectomies. Although this procedure carries a theoretical risk of unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, compared with the unilateral procedure, the risk of bilateral sensorineural hearing loss is only 0.006-0.2%, as derived mathematically from historical data. Conclusion: In carefully selected cases of parental request and noncompliance, simultaneous bilateral mastoidecomies are a safe and effective alternative to the traditional two-stage procedure.