Eustachian tube dilatation can be done as an office procedure
Reviewed by Madhup K Chaurasia

Symptoms of eustachian tube dysfunction can often prove stressful and the treatment can be quite challenging in terms of sustained improvement. In this study, 31 patients underwent eustachian tube dilatation under local anaesthesia. The procedure is based on the concept that dilatation results in micro-fracture of the tubal cartilage. This allows easier opening of the tube by pharyngeal muscles. An elaborate local anaesthesia protocol was followed in an interventional clinic, using surface and infiltration anaesthesia. Cases were scrutinised to exclude possibility of patulous eustachian tube. Thirty-one patients underwent thirty-one primary and nine revision procedures. The outcomes were assessed using ETDQ-7 (eustachian tube dysfunction questionnaire) scores. ETDQ-7 is a patient-reported, disease-specific outcome measure. Short-term follow-ups after six weeks showed significantly reduced ETDQ-7 scores, as did the long-term follow up scores measured after 3-, 6- and 12-month periods. Three patients in the series underwent ETBD for baro-challenge-induced ETD and, subsequently, were able to resume activities such as scuba diving. The convenience and cost-effectiveness of this procedure, compared to its being done under general anaesthesia, does offer some logic which is also based on the fact that these patients easily tolerated the procedure and there were no complications.

Local anaesthetic Eustachian tube balloon dilatation: a prospective case series analysis of 31 patients.
Balal E, Bullock E, Ross T, Ferguson M.
J LARYNGOL OTOL
2025;139(8):681–6.