By Marcello Cherchi, MD PhD
Overview
In 1986 the neurotologist, Dr. Larry Edwin Duberstein (1941 – 2020) described a method for maintaining patency of a tympanostomy tube by placing through its lumen a wick (that would absorb blood and middle ear secretions) that would subsequently be removed (Duberstein 1986).
The neurotologist, Dr. Herbert Silverstein, published (Silverstein 1999) and then patented (Silverstein 2000) a repurposed version of this wick, which he called the MicroWick, for delivery of drugs to the middle ear.
A series of subsequent publications, which Dr. Silverstein authored or co-authored (Hoffmann and Silverstein 2003; Jackson and Silverstein 2002; Light and Silverstein 2004; Light, Silverstein, Jackson 2003; Silverstein et al. 2004), described various indications for the use of the MicroWick perfusion technique, usually for steroids (dexamethasone) or gentamicin in the treatment of Ménière’s disease.
References
Duberstein LE (1986) Intraluminal tube wick. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 94: 135-6. doi: 10.1177/019459988609400121
Hoffmann KK, Silverstein H (2003) Inner ear perfusion: indications and applications. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 11: 334-9. doi: 10.1097/00020840-200310000-00005
Jackson LE, Silverstein H (2002) Chemical perfusion of the inner ear. Otolaryngol Clin North Am 35: 639-53. doi: 10.1016/s0030-6665(02)00023-3
Light JP, Silverstein H (2004) Transtympanic perfusion: indications and limitations. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 12: 378-83. doi: 10.1097/01.moo.0000134438.91734.38
Light JP, Silverstein H, Jackson LE (2003) Gentamicin perfusion vestibular response and hearing loss. Otol Neurotol 24: 294-8. doi: 10.1097/00129492-200303000-00027
Silverstein H (1999) Use of a new device, the MicroWick, to deliver medication to the inner ear. Ear Nose Throat J 78: 595-8, 600.
Silverstein H (2000) Otological implant for delivery of medicament and method of using same. In: Office USPaT (ed), A61M 31/00 edn, vol US00612048A, United States of America, pp 8
Silverstein H, Thompson J, Rosenberg SI, Brown N, Light J (2004) Silverstein MicroWick. Otolaryngol Clin North Am 37: 1019-34. doi: 10.1016/j.otc.2004.04.002
