Various medications used to restore eustachian tube function have unpredictable results and these are often disappointing. Balloon dilatation of eustachian tube came around 2010 but has not really gained momentum, mainly due to apprehended complications. In this review article, the authors have carefully selected relevant publications after excluding studies which mentioned different procedures, repeat procedures and combined procedures. The cohort comprised two RCT’s (309 patients), two systematic reviews (726 patients), five retrospective studies (2430 patients), two case series (12 patients) and three case reports. This totalled 3480 patients in whom 14 had surgical emphysema (0.40%) and in five of these it extended to the mediastinum. Mucosal injury seems to be the cause of this. One patient had carotid asystole. A number of miscellaneous complications have also been mentioned such as tenderness, epistaxis, rhinitis and serous otitis media. One patient had TIA five days later. The total complication rate was 1.68%. The success rate ranged from 60 to 90%. Emphasis is made on careful selection of patients, especially because symptoms of eustachian tube obstruction and patulous eustachian tube overlap. Possible complications should be discussed when consenting and postoperative precautions such as delayed valsalva, avoidance of heavy lifting, sneezing and constipation should be observed. This study is helpful towards developing a much-needed solution to this often-intractable problem.
Safety factors in use of balloon tuboplasty
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