Objectives: To describe the long-term results of the titanium angular clip prosthesis 10 years after its initial description.
Study design: Clinical retrospective study.
Setting: Tertiary referral center.
Patients: Sixty three patients with isolated defects of the long process of the incus where the ossicular chain was reconstructed by a titanium angular clip prosthesis.
Interventions: Therapeutic.
Main outcome measures: The mean air-bone gap was calculated over the frequencies of 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 kHz.
Results: The placement of the prosthesis was straightforward in all patients, without any complication. During the first follow-up visit after 3 weeks (n = 61) the mean air-bone gap (ABG) was reduced by 10 dB HL, and from 24 dB HL preoperatively to 14 dB HL. At the long-term follow-up appointment-4 years after implantation (n = 29)-the mean ABG was still reduced by 8 dB HL, from a mean of 26 dB HL preoperatively to 18 dB HL.
Conclusion: The use of the titanium angular clip prosthesis is a safe and reliable way to bridge an isolated erosion of the long process of the incus, leading to significant and long-lasting improvement of the ABG both in the short and long-term follow-up. A similarly large improvement of the sound transmission can be achieved both in patients with a Type A and a Type B/C tympanogram.