Isolated Hammer Fracture: New Reparative Surgical Technique Fractura aislada del martillo: Nueva técnica quirúrgica reparadora

Abstract

The isolated fracture of the handle of the hammer is a pathology usually underdiagnosed. The presence of an isolated hammer fracture should be suspected in a patient with post-traumatic conductive hearing loss, intact tympanic membrane and impaired mobility with Valsalva movements, as well as in patients who have type A tympanogram with an abnormally increased complacency. The most common causes of this injury are: craneoencephalic trauma, barotrauma and attempt to remove foreign bodies from the ear among others. The most frequent treatments are aimed at the facilitation of the production of a bone callus at the level of the fracture site, the stabilization by means of the interposition of the anvil between the head of the hammer and the abutment or the placement of bone grafts between the fracture and the anvil. In this article, three patients from the Otorhinolaryngology service of the San José Hospital are described, who presented a fracture of the hammer. They were handled with this new technique with satisfactory results.