Since 1946, when I initiated my practice in otosclerosis surgery, I have felt confident that the new technique brought about by fenestration would substantially improve functional prognosis in the surgery of chronic middle ear infections.
In February, 1950, I published my first work1 in this field, on a type of operation which I called "semiconservative," an improvement of Ramadier's antroattical emptying procedure and similar to the "modified radical operation."
In semiconservative operation middle ear structures are much more respected and preserved than in radical procedure. In a consecutive series of operations an average postoperative hearing level of 43.9 db. was obtained (Fig. 1). However, the attainment of complete social level was not possible in most cases, owing to the fact that the physical features of a middle ear treated by this procedure were not favorable for a correct transmission and transformation of
Submitted for publication May 6, 1958.
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