The Role of the Surface Tension and the Contact Angles of Perilymph in Stapes Surgery

Physical aspects of stapes surgery are discussed. In order to determine the wettability of possible materials for the prosthetic use the advancing contact angles of perilymph on vitallium and Teflon were measured and were found to be (62°±3°) and (101°±4°) respectively. As far as this physical factor is involved, the better choice is Teflon. In order to facilitate further in vitro experiments the surface tension of perilymph samples of 76 otosclerotic ears was measured. The distribution showed a mean value of 50.6 dynes/cm with a standard deviation of 3.3 dynes/cm.