Optimising the pre-treatment process before mobile ear surgery for chronic suppurative otitis media in Wolisso and Attat, Ethiopia

Chronic suppurative otitis media is a major cause of long-standing hearing impairment in many Sub-Saharan African countries. Attempts were made to optimise the pre-treatment process before mobile ear surgery for chronic suppurative otitis media in Wolisso, a semi-urban community in the Oromia region, and in Attat, a rural community in the Gurage region, both in the south-west of Ethiopia, between 2008 and 2010. This included special training for ENT nurses, and the use of a strict scheduling regime and improved topical treatment. This strategy allowed effective middle-ear surgery to be carried out using simple means and with a mobile ear surgery team, the latter of which is only transiently but regularly on site.