Endoscopic ear surgery uses a thin rigid telescope with a camera, passed down the ear canal, in place of or alongside the operating microscope. It lets the surgeon see around corners inside the middle ear and often avoids a cut behind the ear.
It is a way of doing established ear operations such as eardrum repair, cholesteatoma removal and stapes surgery, not a separate treatment. Its main limit is that the surgeon works one-handed, which makes bleeding harder to manage, and large disease in the mastoid bone still needs a conventional approach.
What Endoscopic Ear Surgery involves
Under general anaesthetic, or sometimes local anaesthetic with sedation, a 3 mm endoscope is placed in the ear canal and the image is shown on a screen. The surgeon lifts the skin of the deep canal together with the eardrum like a flap to enter the middle ear. Depending on the problem, a perforation is patched with a graft of cartilage or fascia taken through a small cut near the ear, cholesteatoma skin is peeled out of hidden recesses using angled scopes, or the hearing bones are repaired. The flap is laid back and the canal is packed with dissolvable sponge.
Who is a good candidate for Endoscopic Ear Surgery?
Suitability depends on the width of your ear canal and how far the disease extends on CT.
- Eardrum perforations, including ones at the front edge that are hard to see with a microscope
- Cholesteatoma limited to the middle ear and attic
- Hearing bone repair and selected stapes surgery
- Children, where avoiding a wound behind the ear eases recovery
- People who want to avoid an external scar where this is safely possible
It is usually not the right choice if:
- Cholesteatoma or infection spreading widely into the mastoid
- Very narrow or tortuous ear canals
- Ears that bleed heavily from active inflammation
- An actively discharging ear that has not been treated first
الخيارات التقنية
- Totally endoscopic surgery: Everything is done through the canal. Used for perforations and limited cholesteatoma.
- Endoscope-assisted surgery: A microscope operation with the endoscope used to check hidden areas for residual cholesteatoma.
- Angled endoscopes: 30 and 45 degree scopes view recesses such as the sinus tympani, lowering the chance of leaving disease behind.
ماذا يحدث خلال علاجك
Most procedures take 1 to 2 hours. You wake with packing in the canal, so that ear will sound blocked. Pain is usually mild. Many people go home the same day or after 1 night. Brief dizziness or a metallic taste can occur.
الإعداد لرحلتك
Plan for 7 to 10 days; longer before flying if advised in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.
- Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
- Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
- Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
- Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly
التعافي والنتائج
Keep the ear dry for 3 to 4 weeks. Do not blow your nose hard, and sneeze with your mouth open. The packing dissolves or is suctioned out at 2 to 3 weeks. Hearing is judged at about 6 to 8 weeks with a hearing test. Most people return to office work within a week. Flying is usually allowed after 2 to 3 weeks but ask your surgeon, as it depends on the repair. Cholesteatoma cases need a check at 9 to 12 months, often with a special MRI.
- Back to everyday activity: About 1 week
- When results show: Hearing assessed at 6 to 8 weeks
- How long they last: Depends on the condition treated
سياسة السلامة والمخاطر والتنقيح
The risks are those of the underlying ear operation rather than of the endoscope itself.
- Graft failure with a persisting perforation
- Hearing no better, or occasionally worse
- Taste disturbance on the side of the tongue, usually temporary
- Tinnitus or dizziness
- Residual or recurrent cholesteatoma
- Facial nerve injury, which is rare
- Heat from the endoscope light, managed by the surgeon using low settings
Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.
Cost of Endoscopic Ear Surgery in Türkiye
Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Endoscopic Ear Surgery, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:
- The underlying operation: simple eardrum repair versus cholesteatoma surgery
- Operating time and anaesthetic type
- CT scan and hearing tests beforehand
- Any prosthesis used to rebuild the hearing bones
Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
الأسئلة المتكررة
Is endoscopic surgery better than microscope surgery?
Results for eardrum closure and hearing are similar. The advantages are less external cutting and a wider view; the choice depends on your ear and the surgeon's experience.
Will I have a scar?
Often only a tiny cut where graft material is taken, in or near the ear. If the surgeon needs to convert to an approach behind the ear, there will be a scar in the crease.
When can I swim?
Usually after the surgeon confirms the eardrum has healed, typically at 6 to 8 weeks.