How Middle Ear Bones Can be Replaced with Implants

Hip replacements, knee replacements are surgical operations everyone has heard of... but did you know that the bones of the middle ear can also be replaced with implants? Though ear bone replacements are not as common as their orthopedic cousins, they are options when the malleus, incus, or stapes become damaged or fixated resulting in hearing loss. Ear bone replacements can potentially improve if not restore hearing in these situations.

Here are 4 different animations showing different types of partial or total ossicular replacement prothesis, PORP or TORP. The video above shows a PORP replacing the malleus and incus.

The animations below show different middle ear bones being replaced including all 3 (TORP), IS joint, incus alone, and stapes alone.