Abstract
Congenital stapedial foot plate fistula was noted in a 30-year-old woman. The literature is reviewed.
Hearing loss since childhood and a floating sensation during exercise were her subjective symptoms. At 20 years of age she began to have frequent paroxysmal episodes of rotatory vertigo accompanied by nausea and vomiting which persisted for almost 3 years.
During the same period she often felt a fullness of the left ear. Repeated paracen-theses had no effect.
At 28 years of age she began to have watery rhinorrhea when she bent her head forward.
At 27 and 28 years of age, she had suppurative meningitis for which medical treatment was successful.
She visited us for further examination. Her left ear showed otitis media with effusion, and hearing and equilibrium function were absent on the left.
Exudation in the middle ear and deformity of the inner ear were found on roentgenographic examination and computed tomography scan.
Exploratory middle ear surgery revealed a fistula in the anterior part of the stapedial foot plate through which perilymph-fluid was leaking.
