APPRAISAL OF FENESTRATION OPERATION: Report of One Hundred Cases

IT IS NOW eight years since Lempert first reported a successful one stage fenestration operation for relieving the deafness of otosclerosis. Enough time has elapsed to prove the efficacy and permanency of this procedure. Even the most skeptical otologists must admit that this operation has proved successful in restoring practical hearing for speech in some cases. Undoubtedly, it is the greatest otologic contribution of the present generation. More and more reports are being submitted by men who have undertaken this intricate and difficult operation, with varying degrees of success. This is a new form of reconstructive plastic surgical treatment, and, while still far from reaching a stage of perfection, the results to date, as reported by different operators, seem to show a definite trend toward a higher percentage of successes. However, what is needed is not simply reports of successes and failures but an attempt to analyze the reasons for