Adenoidectomy in the treatment of otitis media with effusion. Review of the literature.

Adenoidectomy has been performed to relieve recurrent upper respiratory tract infection and inflammatory middle ear disease because it has generally been thought that adenoid vegetation may be one of the causes of these diseases. However, some people doubt the effect of adenoidectomy as a treatment of middle ear troubles, especially for otitis media with effusion. The literature is reviewed to find out whether this surgery is able to cure otitis media with effusion. Many clinical investigations have been done on this matter, but some of the studies seem to be based on inadequate selection of patients. Also, some problems have been found in deciding the indications for surgery. As a result, it is suggested that adenoidectomy can cure otitis media with effusion in certain cases. But it is still a question whether it adds any benefit to other treatments for otitis media with effusion such as ventilation tube insertion. Closer endoscopic observation of adenoid vegetation and quantitative evaluation of the Eustachian tube function should be employed to solve this problem.