Iatrogenic inner ear dehiscence associated with lateral skull base surgery: a systematic analysis of drilling injuries and their causal factors

Purpose Drilling injuries of the inner ear are an underreported complication of lateral skull base (LSB) surgery. Inner ear breaches can cause hearing loss, vestibular dysfunction, and third window phenomenon. This study aims to elucidate primary factors causing iatrogenic inner ear dehiscences (IED) in 9 patients who presented to a tertiary care center with postoperative symptoms of IED following LSB surgery for vestibular schwannoma, endolymphatic sac tumor, Meniere’s disease, paraganglioma jugulare, and vagal schwannoma. Methods Utilizing 3D Slicer image processing software, geometric and volumetric analysis was applied to both preoperative and postoperative imaging to identify causal factors iatrogenic inner ear breaches. Segmentation analyses, craniotomy analyses, and drilling trajectory analyses were performed. Cases of retrosigmoid approaches for vestibular schwannoma resection were compared to matched controls. Results Excessive lateral drilling and breach of a single inner ear structure occurred in 3 cases undergoing transjugular ( n =2) and transmastoid ( n =1) approaches. Inadequate drilling trajectory breaching ≥1 inner ear structure occurred in 6 cases undergoing retrosigmoid ( n =4), transmastoid ( n =1), and middle cranial fossa approaches ( n =1). In retrosigmoid approaches the 2-cm visualization window and craniotomy limits did not provide drilling angles to the entire tumor without causing IED in comparison to matched controls. Conclusions Inappropriate drill depth, errant lateral drilling, inadequate drill trajectory, or a combination of these led to iatrogenic IED. Image-based segmentation, individualized 3D anatomical model generation, and geometric and volumetric analyses can optimize operative plans and possibly reduce inner ear breaches from lateral skull base surgery.