الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The stapes is the smallest bone in the body. It is the innermost of the three middle ear ossicles which transmit the vibrations of the tympanic membrane into the oval window. Stapes surgery is one of the most delicate ear surgery and needs special skill and experience. Stapedectomy is the operation of choice for treatment of otosclerosis, and the majority of patients suffering from otosclerosis can benefit from it. This does not mean that surgery should be recommended for all cases. Successful surgical treatment of otosclerosis was first achieved in early 1940s. A decade later, Rosen mobilised an ankylosed stapes, but Shea and Shea et al, made probably the first attack on stapes surgery which gave consistently successful results, since then, in an effort to evolve simpler techniques and improved results, many new methods have been introduced. Although results are improving, particular hazards and difficulties still remain. Recently, argon laser is used in the surgery. Despite the fact that it was new and unfamilial to the surgical staff, the complication rate was lower with the argon laser than with footplate fenestration by traditional pick or drill techniques. In revision Stapedectomy sensorineural hearing loss was four times as likely to occur with traditional instruments as with argon laser. Though not ideal for every case, the argon laser endo-oto-probe offers the surgeon a significant new tool to improve the outcome in stapes surgery.