Centre for Otology
A Revolution in the Treatment of Ear Disease
Endoscopic ear surgery brings about a transformation in the treatment of ear disease that patients have been waiting for decades. This innovative surgical method has taken a leading role in ear surgery worldwide over the past decade. Thanks to continuous advances in medical technology, the majority of pathological conditions of the external and middle ear can today be successfully treated with this minimally invasive approach, providing patients with a considerably more comfortable experience and a faster return to everyday activities.
The structures of the middle ear are exceptionally small and delicate. The three ossicles within the middle ear — the malleus, incus and stapes — are the smallest bones in the human body. Traditionally, ear operations were performed under a microscope due to the need for precise magnification. Microscopic ear surgery, however, has its limitations: when operating through the ear canal, the surgeon is restricted by its width, as light reaches the operative field from "outside" through a funnel. For this reason, in many cases it was necessary to make external skin incisions behind the ear and drill into the mastoid in order to adequately visualise all anatomical structures.
The endoscopic approach represents a significant advance: the surgeon enters directly into the ear through the natural pathway (ear canal) using a thin camera, thereby avoiding unnecessary destruction of healthy tissue, obtaining a better and clearer image of the eardrum and other middle ear structures, ensuring great magnification and excellent resolution, and enabling more precise and safer surgery.
Under the direction of Dr. Mislav Malić, Poliklinika Malić houses a specialised centre for otology and ear surgery. Otology is the branch of otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery that studies the normal and pathological anatomy and physiology of the ear, hearing and the organ of balance, as well as their diseases, diagnosis and treatment. The centre provides surgical treatment of chronic middle ear infections in children and adults, eardrum perforations, cholesteatoma, external ear canal stenosis, conductive hearing loss (e.g. otosclerosis), facial nerve disorders, and tumours of the ear and skull base.
Dr. Malić commands the full spectrum of ear surgical techniques — from the most complex microsurgical procedures of the skull base to minimally invasive endoscopic approaches. His philosophy is not technique for its own sake: he prefers the endoscopic approach because in most cases it delivers better results with less trauma — but he always selects the method that is optimal for each individual patient. For extensive disease involving the mastoid or temporal bone, he combines endoscopy with the microscope or performs classical microsurgery. The patient receives a complete otologist, not a specialist of a single technique.
