Ini melibatkan jenis yang sangat kuat dari obat cortisone bernama
Deksametason. Mekanisme yang tepat dan alasan mengapa
pengobatan ini bekerja tidak benar-benar mengerti, tetapi ketika
obat masuk ke dalam telinga bagian dalam melalui membran
putaran jendela, baik melalui efek anti-inflamasi atau efek lain yang
tidak diketahui, itu menghasilkan kontrol dari serangan vertigo di
sebagian besar pasien, dan juga dapat meningkatkan mendengar
pada beberapa pasien.
Until fairly recently, surgical options for treatment of Menieres disease were
limited. However, over the last 10 years, if medical therapy is unsuccessful,
minimally invasive office surgical treatments have become the most common
procedures performed to control Menieres disease. The treatments involve the
injection of medication through an anesthetized ear drum. The medication then
passes into the inner ear through a membrane, named the round window
membrane. These techniques are generally called INNER EAR CHEMICAL
PERFUSIONS. The two medications which are most frequently used in inner ear
perfusions are Dexamethasone and Gentamycin.
This involves a very strong type of cortisone drug named Dexamethasone. The
exact mechanism and reason why this treatment works is not totally understood,
but when the drug passes into the inner ear through the round window
membrane, either through anti-inflammatory effect or other unknown effect, it
results in control of the vertigo attacks in most patients, and it may also improve
hearing in some patients.
Gentamycin perfusion of the inner ear is a second stage treatment in those cases
where Dexamethasone perfusion of the inner ear is unsuccessful in controlling
vertigo. It is usually reserved for patients with some impairment in their hearing.
Gentamycin is believed to work by reducing the function of the receptors of the
balance nerve; it is very effective but there is a higher risk of further hearing loss
with this technique.
Dexamethasone perfusion of the inner ear has certainly become the preferred
surgical treatment for the uncontrolled vertigo of Menieres disease at many
centers around the country. Several studies have shown that the concentration of
Dexamethasone that can be achieved in the inner ear is higher than what can be
obtained by taking Dexamethasone orally.
Dexamethasone injections into the inner ear are offered to patients with Menieres
disease if initial medical therapy over a period of several months has failed to
control the attacks of vertigo. Studies have demonstrated up to an 80-90%
response rate to Dexamethasone perfusions. Different protocols exist but in my
practice Dexamethasone perfusion is usually performed in a series of three (3)
treatments separated roughly a week apart. The drum is anesthetized locally and
then a very small needle is passed through the drum and injected into the middle
ear. The patient is advised to keep their head turned and avoid swallowing for
approximately 30-40 minutes. During this time, the drug is absorbed through the
membrane of the round window.