Lempert Decompression Operation for Hydrops of the Endolymphatic Labyrinth in Meniere's Disease

MÉNIÈRE'S DISEASE, the cause of which is still to be determined, is diagnosable only through the process of exclusion. It consists of repeated sudden, severe attacks of vertigo with spontaneous nystagmus occurring at intervals of unpredictable frequency and duration. The attacks are accompanied with severe tinnitus, in addition to a loss of perceptive hearing which usually progresses with each attack. If allowed to continue, the paroxysmal attacks usually result in complete inner ear deafness. As a rule, the vestibular function when tested between attacks shows diminished response as compared with that of the nonaffected ear. These attacks are usually accompanied with nausea and vomiting. PATHOLOGIC ASPECTS In 1938 Hallpike and Cairns¹first observed a hydrops of the vestibular and cochlear portions of the membranous labyrinth on histologic examination of the temporal bone of the affected ear in 2 cases of Ménière's disease which came to autopsy. In 1940 Hallpike and