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Fluoroscopy-guided balloon dilation in patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction

  • Vascular-Interventional
  • Published:
European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To prospectively evaluate the technical feasibility and safety of fluoroscopy-guided balloon dilation in patients with Eustachian tube (ET) dysfunction.

Methods

Patients who could not do a Valsalva manoeuvre for more than 6 months and diagnosed with chronic otitis media or ET dysfunction were prospectively enrolled. A 0.035-in. guide wire and 6-mm long balloon catheter with a diameter of 2 mm were used to dilate the cartilaginous portion of the ET under fluoroscopic guidance. The balloon was inflated by manual injection twice for 1 min each time. Clinical outcomes were assessed by the patient’s ability to perform a Valsalva manoeuvre, and symptoms were assessed using the 7-item Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire (ETDQ-7) score.

Results

Balloon dilation was attempted in a total of ten adult patients from October 2016 to March 2017. Technical success was achieved in all procedures (10/10). Ninety percent (9/10) of the balloons were fully dilated without waist deformity. There were no major complications. All patients were able to perform a Valsalva manoeuvre at the time of their last visit and/or improvement of at least one ETDQ-7 score.

Conclusion

Fluoroscopy-guided balloon dilation seems to be technically feasible and safe in the treatment of ET dysfunction.

Key points

• Fluoroscopy-guided balloon dilation without general anaesthesia was well-tolerated in all patients.

• Location of the balloon catheter can be monitored during the procedure.

• Inflation state of the balloon catheter can be monitored during the procedure.

• Using guide-wire during the procedure would prevent false passage creation.

• All patients had clinical improvement within 3 months after balloon dilation.

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Abbreviations

CT:

Computed tomography

ET:

Eustachian tube

ETDQ-7:

7-item Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Questionnaire

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Acknowledgements

We thank Ms. Vanessa Topping from the Scientific Publications Team at Asan Medical Center for her editorial assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.

Funding

This study has received funding by the Korea Health Technology R&D Project, Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, Republic of Korea (HI17C0881).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Kun Yung Kim and Jiaywei Tsauo contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors.

  2. Ho-Young Song and Hong Ju Park contributed equally to this work and are co-corresponding authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olymic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Republic of Korea

    Kun Yung Kim, Jiaywei Tsauo, Ho-Young Song, Jung-Hoon Park & Zhe Wang

  2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olymic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Republic of Korea

    Hong Ju Park & Woo Seok Kang

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering Research Center, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88, Olymic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Republic of Korea

    Jung-Hoon Park

  4. Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Anshan Road 154#, Heping District, CN, 300052, People’s Republic of China

    Zhe Wang

Authors
  1. Kun Yung Kim
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  2. Jiaywei Tsauo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ho-Young Song.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Ho-Young Song.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects (patients) in this study.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Methodology

• prospective

• case-control study

• performed at one institution

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Kim, K.Y., Tsauo, J., Song, HY. et al. Fluoroscopy-guided balloon dilation in patients with Eustachian tube dysfunction. Eur Radiol 28, 910–919 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5040-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-5040-4

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