Surgery for vertigo: 10-year audit from a contemporary vertigo clinic.

OBJECTIVE: To present the profile of patients undergoing surgical treatment for vertigo at a contemporary institutional vertigo clinic.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective analysis of clinical charts.

METHODS: The charts of 1060 patients, referred to an institutional vertigo clinic from January 2003 to December 2012, were studied. The clinical profile and long-term outcomes of patients who underwent surgery were analysed.

RESULTS: Of 1060 patients, 12 (1.13 per cent) were managed surgically. Of these, disease-modifying surgical procedures included perilymphatic fistula repair (n = 7) and microvascular decompression of the vestibular nerve (n = 1). Labyrinth destructive procedures included transmastoid labyrinthectomy (n = 2) and labyrinthectomy with vestibular nerve section (n = 1). One patient with vestibular schwannoma underwent both a disease-modifying and destructive procedure (translabyrinthine excision). All patients achieved excellent vertigo control, classified as per the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 1995 criteria.

CONCLUSION: With the advent of intratympanic treatments, surgical treatments for vertigo have become further limited. However, surgery with directed intent, in select patients, can give excellent results.