Endoscopic Versus Microscopic Transcanal Resection of Glomus Tympanicum: A Retrospective Comparative Study

Objective Comparison of outcomes of microscopic and endoscopic resection of glomus tympanicum (GT) tumors Study Design Retrospective case review. Setting Single tertiary referral center. Patients All adult patients undergoing transcanal GT resection without mastoidectomy from 2007 to 2021 Interventions Surgical resection—endoscopic versus microscopic approach. Main Outcome Measures Primary outcomes were tumor recurrence at 1 year and presence of residual tumor at conclusion of surgery. Secondary outcome measures included operative time, postoperative air-bone gap, postoperative symptom resolution, and surgical complications. Results Thirty-eight patients underwent resection of GT (74% female; mean age, 59 years). Twenty-nine cases were performed microscopically, and nine cases were performed endoscopically. Both endoscopic and microscopic approaches yielded high rates of complete tumor resection (27/29 microscopic cases, 7/9 endoscopic cases). There was no significant difference in mean operative time (2.3 hours for microscopic; 2.6 hours for endoscopic). On average, air-bone gaps (ABGs) decreased by 6.3 dB after endoscopic resection compared with 1.0 dB after microscopic resection ( p = 0.064). No patients were found to have tumor recurrence during an average follow-up interval of 21 months. Conclusions These results suggest comparable outcomes with both endoscopic and microscopic approaches for GT resection, and decisions regarding preferred approach should be dictated by surgeon preference.