[Microfibroendoscopy of the eustachian tube].

The development of extremely minute high performance optical fibers have made possible fibroscopic examination of the Eustachian tube. We have developed a microfibroendoscopic technique since 1987 to explore the Eustachian tube and the tympanic cavity without opening the tympanic membrane. This technique has been used in 125 patients with chronic otitis. The exploration is performed in the operating theatre during a tympanoplasty procedure. Patients are placed in supine position under general anaesthesia. Endoscopic exploration of the Eustachian tube has demonstrated that tube obstruction is very rare, encountered in only 2% of our cases. The major advantage of the technique is the direct antero-posterior visualization of the middle ear. Viewing the middle ear from this anterior view point, the surgeon can analyze regions unattainable with other techniques. The future challenge for this technique is to achieve the goal of non-invasive surgery of the middle ear.