Ten years of stapes surgery in France (2013-2022). About 35368 procedures.

Introduction: The incidence of otosclerosis appears to have been declining since the late 1970s. We conducted a retrospective nationwide study to assess the evolution of the annual number of stapes surgeries and to analyze the changes in technical practices, specifically comparing laser techniques to cold instruments.

Methods: We examined the French national dataset from the "Programme de Médicalisation des Systèmes d'Information" (PMSI). Within this national database, we collected data on the number of stapes surgical procedures performed using cold instruments and laser technology from 2013 to 2022 in France.

Results: The total number of stapes surgeries has decreased each year, dropping from 4,268 procedures in 2013 to 3,007 procedures in 2022, which represents a decline of 29.5% over a decade. On average, 162 fewer procedures were performed each year compared to the previous year. The use of laser technology increased from 42% of cases in 2013 to 61% of cases in 2022. Laser techniques were more commonly employed in university hospitals and private non-profit clinics than in general hospitals and private clinics.

Conclusion: The number of stapes surgeries is decreasing linearly and consistently, raising concerns regarding the training of young surgeons. Furthermore, laser techniques are gradually replacing cold instruments in clinical practice.