Use of the KTP laser in totally endoscopic cholesteatoma surgery.

This paper reviews our experience of potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) laser in transcanal totally endoscopic cholesteatoma surgery.A prospective cohort study was conducted in a tertiary referral centre, involving a consecutive series of children with cholesteatoma who underwent totally endoscopic cholesteatoma surgery with a KTP laser.The patients' mean age was 10.5 years (range, 1.8-18 years). A KTP laser was used in 70 of the 83 cases (84 per cent). The laser was not used in 13 'clean' cases, in which disease was removed more easily. Residual disease was detected in five cases (6 per cent), of which the KTP laser had been used in four (5 per cent). No complications were associated with KTP laser use.The combination of KTP laser use with endoscopic visualisation is effective for minimising the risk of residual disease using a minimally invasive surgical approach. The thin, semi-flexible fibre carrier of the KTP laser is ideally suited to work alongside the endoscope within the narrow confines of the ear canal.