Georges Portmann’s Surgery—90 Years in Retrospect and a View of the Future

Abstract

The surgical technique for Meniere’s disease is divided into 3 types, i.e., vestibular neurectomy, ablation of the vestibular potion of the labyrinth, and endolymphatic decompression. Approximately 40 years ago, when I began surgical treatment for Meniere’s disease, I preferred the decompression technique initiated by Georges Portmann because of the following reasons; first, this technique had continued uninterrupted for more than 40 years; second, the safety of this technique had been confirmed by many otologists; and third, the decompression technique seemed to be adaptable to our major consideration, i.e., improvement of hearing ability and prevention of hearing loss. In this paper, the 90-year-old technique pioneered by Georges Portmann is discussed from various points of view.