How Long Does Stapedectomy Recovery Take? Dizziness, Taste Changes and Hearing Milestones

Day two, and the world sounds like it is happening in the next room. A spoon of yogurt tastes faintly of coins. Rolling over in bed sends the ceiling on a slow, unwelcome lap. None of this was quite what she pictured when the surgeon said the operation would take about an hour and she could go home the same afternoon.

This is the quiet, in-between stretch of stapedectomy recovery that pre-operative leaflets tend to compress into a line or two. The ear is packed, the inner ear is settling, a nerve that carries taste has been nudged, and the hearing improvement everyone talked about has not arrived yet. It is also, for most people, exactly how the first days are supposed to feel.

What follows is an honest map of that stretch: what the surgery changes inside the ear, why the dizziness and the metallic taste happen, when hearing usually starts to shift, how to sleep, when to fly, and which signs mean a phone call rather than patience.

What actually happens during a stapedectomy?

The stapes is the smallest bone in the body, a stirrup-shaped lever about the size of a grain of rice that sits deepest in the chain of three middle-ear bones. Its job is mechanical: it receives vibrations from the eardrum and the two bones ahead of it and pushes them through a tiny window into the fluid-filled inner ear. In otosclerosis, a condition in which abnormal bone growth stiffens the middle ear, the base of that stirrup fuses to the surrounding bone. The lever stops levering. Sound reaches the eardrum but never makes the last leap into the inner ear, which is why people describe voices as muffled rather than absent. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders estimates otosclerosis affects more than three million Americans.

A stapedectomy replaces the stuck stirrup with a tiny prosthesis, an artificial piston usually made of titanium, fluoroplastic or a similar inert material. Working through the ear canal under a microscope, the surgeon lifts the eardrum forward like a hinged door, removes most or all of the fixed stapes, and either opens the footplate or drills a pinhole in it. Many surgeons now make only that pinhole, a variant called stapedotomy; in everyday conversation both are called stapedectomy, and recovery is broadly similar. The prosthesis is hooked to the neighboring bone at one end and seated in the opening at the other, often cushioned with a scrap of the patient’s own tissue.

Then the eardrum is laid back down and the canal filled with dissolvable packing. The whole procedure is typically done under general or local anesthesia with sedation and most people go home the same day, according to patient information from a major US academic medical center’s health library (see references). The ear looks unchanged from the outside. Almost everything that matters has happened on the far side of the eardrum.

How long does stapedectomy recovery take from start to finish?

The honest answer has two parts, because recovery from this operation runs on two clocks. The first clock is about you feeling normal. The second is about the ear working normally. They do not tick at the same speed, and a lot of post-operative anxiety comes from expecting them to.

On the first clock, patient education material from the same health library describes most people returning to desk-type work and light activity within about a week, with heavy lifting, straining and vigorous exercise held back for several weeks so pressure changes in the head do not disturb the healing footplate. The incision, if any, is inside the ear canal or tucked behind the ear and is usually undemanding.

On the second clock, the ear needs time. Dissolvable packing sits against the eardrum for a few weeks, blood and fluid behind the drum are slowly absorbed, and the inner ear settles after being briefly opened. Hearing frequently sounds worse in the first days than before surgery, then improves in steps rather than a straight line. Surgeons commonly schedule a formal hearing test, called an audiogram, somewhere between six and twelve weeks after surgery, because that is when the result is considered stable enough to judge.

So when someone asks how long stapedectomy recovery takes, a fair summary is: about a week to feel like yourself, about a month to be released from most restrictions, and about three months before anyone, including your surgeon, can say with confidence what the operation has achieved for your hearing. Individual timelines vary with age, the state of the other ear, the extent of the otosclerosis and how the inner ear tolerates the surgery. The team that operated is the only source that can narrow those ranges for you.

Dizziness after stapedectomy: why it happens and how long it lasts

The inner ear is a single, sealed, fluid-filled system. The part that hears, the cochlea, shares its fluid with the part that senses motion, the vestibular labyrinth. Opening the footplate, even through a pinhole, briefly exposes that fluid, called perilymph, and lets the surgeon place a prosthesis a fraction of a millimeter into it. The balance organ notices. The result is the unsteadiness, spinning or nausea that patient information libraries list as one of the most common experiences in the first days after surgery.

Three patterns are typical. The first is a general woozy, off-balance feeling that is worst on the day of surgery and the day after, then fades. The second is brief spinning triggered by quick head turns, bending down or rolling over in bed, which tends to persist a little longer, often into the second week. The third, which is uncommon but important, is severe, persistent vertigo with vomiting or a sudden drop in hearing, which can signal irritation or injury to the inner ear and belongs in the red-flag list later in this article.

Managing the ordinary kind is mostly about slowing down. Sit for a moment before standing. Turn your whole body rather than snapping your head around. Keep the room lit at night so your eyes can help your brain compensate. Surgeons sometimes prescribe medicines from the antihistamine or anti-nausea classes for the first few days; these work by damping the brain’s response to conflicting balance signals, and whether, when and how long you take them is a decision for the prescribing clinician.

Most people find the dizziness after stapedectomy is a nuisance rather than a disability, and that it is measurably better each morning. If yours is getting worse instead of better, or is still confining you to a chair after the first week, say so at follow-up rather than waiting for it to pass.

Why does food taste metallic or strange after ear surgery?

Of all the surprises in stapedectomy recovery, this one puzzles people most. What does an ear operation have to do with breakfast? The answer is a nerve with a wonderful name and an inconvenient address. The chorda tympani, literally the cord of the drum, is a small branch of the facial nerve that carries taste sensation from the front two-thirds of the tongue on one side. On its way to the brain it takes a shortcut straight across the middle ear, running between the eardrum and the bones the surgeon needs to reach.

To see the stapes clearly, the surgeon often has to gently move that nerve aside. Occasionally it is stretched, and in some operations it must be cut to gain safe access. A stretched nerve sulks: it sends garbled signals the brain interprets as a metallic, salty, bitter or simply flat taste, usually on the operated side, sometimes with a numb or dry patch on the tongue.

Patient information from the health library cited in the references lists altered taste among the expected temporary effects, describing improvement over weeks to a few months in most cases as the nerve recovers. Where the nerve has been divided, the other side of the tongue and the remaining taste nerves generally compensate over time, though a minority of people notice a lasting difference on that side.

Practical points help while it settles. Cold foods and strong, clean flavors such as citrus or mint tend to read more accurately than warm, subtle ones. Metal cutlery sometimes intensifies the sensation; a plastic or wooden spoon is a harmless experiment. Good oral hygiene matters because a dry tongue exaggerates the distortion. And it is worth telling your surgeon at follow-up exactly what you notice, since the pattern of change tells them how the nerve was handled and roughly what to expect.

Stapedectomy hearing recovery timeline: when will I notice a difference?

This is the question underneath every other question, and the truthful answer starts with a warning: hearing in the operated ear is often worse in the first week than it was before surgery. Packing fills the canal, blood and fluid sit behind the eardrum, and the inner ear is irritable. People sometimes hear their own pulse, a low roar, or an echo of their voice. None of that predicts the final result.

The first real change tends to arrive as the packing dissolves or is removed at the first follow-up visit. Some people describe a moment when sound suddenly seems to click into place, others notice a slow lifting of the fog over several weeks. Patient education material in the references describes hearing improvement typically being noticed within a few weeks, with continued gains as swelling settles. Because the surgery corrects a mechanical block, voices and everyday sounds are usually the first to return; very high or very low pitches may take longer to judge.

The formal verdict comes from an audiogram, a hearing test in a sound booth that measures the quietest tones you can detect through the air and through a vibrator on the bone behind the ear. Before surgery those two lines are far apart in otosclerosis, a difference called the air-bone gap. A successful stapedectomy narrows that gap. Surgeons often wait six to twelve weeks before this test so the result reflects the healed ear rather than the healing one.

Two expectations deserve tempering. First, the operation aims at the conductive part of the loss; any inner-ear component from age or noise is unchanged, so hearing may improve substantially without becoming perfect. Second, the prosthesis restores sound transmission, not the sharpness of a younger cochlea. Most people undergoing this surgery do gain useful hearing, according to the patient information cited, but the size of the gain is individual, and the team will only commit to a number after they have measured it.

Who is usually offered a stapedectomy, and who is asked to wait?

Otosclerosis is the usual reason. It is a condition of abnormal bone remodeling in the middle ear that, according to the NIH’s hearing institute, often runs in families and most commonly declares itself between the teenage years and middle age, with women affected more often than men and both ears frequently involved over time. The typical candidate has a conductive hearing loss, meaning sound is blocked on its way to the inner ear, confirmed by an audiogram showing a clear air-bone gap, a healthy eardrum, and a loss large enough to affect daily life.

Surgeons also weigh what the inner ear itself is doing. The bone-conduction line on the audiogram, which reflects the cochlea, needs to be reasonably good, because a prosthesis cannot fix a cochlea that has stopped hearing. Where both ears are affected, the ear with the poorer hearing is usually operated on first, and the second ear is almost always deferred until the first has fully recovered and been tested, typically a matter of months.

People are commonly asked to wait, or offered alternatives, in several situations. An active ear infection or a perforated eardrum is treated first. A loss that is mild and not yet troublesome may be observed with repeat audiograms. Someone who flies for a living, dives professionally or works in an environment of large pressure swings will have a longer conversation about timing and risk. The only hearing ear is a special case: because every stapedectomy carries a small risk of worsening hearing, most surgeons are reluctant to operate on an ear a person cannot afford to lose, and hearing aids are usually preferred.

Age alone is rarely a barrier. Pregnancy is generally a reason to defer, as are certain balance disorders. In every case the decision sits with the surgeon and audiologist who have seen the audiogram and examined the ear, not with a list.

What the first two weeks of stapedectomy recovery usually look like

Home on the day of surgery, most people spend the first evening horizontal, nauseated in a low-grade way, with a cotton ball in the ear canal and a strict instruction not to blow their nose. Pain is usually modest, more a fullness or ache than a sharp hurt, and generally controlled with the medicines the team recommends. The cotton may show pink or brown staining for a few days; that is expected. Fresh red bleeding is not.

The table below summarizes the typical arc described in the patient information cited in the references. It is a guide, not a schedule.

Timeframe	What is common	What people are usually asked to do
Days 1 to 3	Dizziness at its peak, muffled hearing, pulsing or roaring sounds, altered taste, mild ache	Rest, keep the ear dry, sneeze with mouth open, avoid bending and lifting
Days 4 to 7	Dizziness mostly on quick movement, appetite returning, energy improving	Gentle walks, light desk work if cleared, continue nose-blowing ban
Weeks 2 to 3	Packing dissolving or removed at first visit, hearing beginning to shift	First follow-up, resume driving if not dizzy and cleared, still no straining
Weeks 4 to 6	Hearing clearer, taste settling, ear feels normal from outside	Many restrictions lifted, flying and exercise discussed with surgeon
Weeks 6 to 12	Result stabilizing	Formal audiogram, plan for second ear or hearing aid fitting if needed

Two habits carry the whole period. Keep water out of the ear canal in the shower, usually with a petroleum-jelly-coated cotton ball or a purpose-made plug your team approves. And treat your nose gently: sneeze with your mouth open, cough softly, and if a cold arrives, tell your surgeon rather than blowing through it. The pressure that a hard nose-blow sends up the tube between throat and middle ear is the single easiest way to disturb a prosthesis that has not yet scarred into place.

How to sleep after stapedectomy

Nobody warns you that the hardest part of the first night is simply lying down. The room tilts as your head goes back, the operated ear throbs when it touches the pillow, and the instinct to roll over collides with the memory of the spin that happened the last time you tried.

Most surgeons give the same handful of instructions, and they are worth following for at least the first week. Sleep with your head raised, typically on two pillows or with the head of the bed propped, because elevation reduces the pressure of blood and fluid in the middle ear and tends to ease both throbbing and dizziness. Lie on your back or on the unoperated side so the cotton ball stays in place and the healing eardrum is not compressed. A travel pillow or a rolled towel behind the shoulders can stop you drifting onto the wrong side in your sleep.

Getting in and out of bed deserves its own technique. Sit on the edge first. Lower yourself sideways onto your good side, then roll gently onto your back with your head still raised. Reverse the sequence in the morning, pausing while sitting until the room stops moving before you stand. Sudden position changes are the most reliable trigger for the brief vertigo described earlier, and the vestibular system adapts faster when it is not being ambushed.

Keep a dim light on. Your brain uses your eyes to steady itself while the inner ear recalibrates, and a completely dark room takes that crutch away, which is why nighttime trips to the bathroom feel worse than daytime ones. Some people find a fan or soft background noise helpful because it masks the pulsing or roaring in the operated ear. Alcohol tends to worsen both sleep quality and dizziness in this period and is best avoided until your team says otherwise. If sleep is still badly disrupted after the first week, mention it at follow-up; it is a common and fixable complaint.

When can I fly, swim, exercise and go back to work?

Every one of these questions comes back to pressure. The prosthesis is anchored at one end and rests in a tiny opening at the other, sealed by a graft and, eventually, by scar tissue. Until that seal matures, anything that abruptly changes the pressure across the eardrum or inside the head can, in principle, shift the piston. That is the logic behind the restrictions, and it explains why they loosen in a particular order.

Work is usually first. Patient information in the references describes about a week off for sedentary jobs, longer for work involving lifting, bending, noise or heights, and longer still if dizziness persists. Driving returns when you can turn your head quickly without spinning and are no longer taking medicines that cause drowsiness; your team will tell you when that applies.

Exercise comes back in stages. Walking is encouraged from the first days. Anything that involves straining, holding your breath against effort, or bouncing the head, which includes heavy weights, running and contact sports, is typically deferred for several weeks. Swimming waits until the eardrum has fully healed and your surgeon has looked at it, because water in the middle ear risks infection, and diving with pressure changes is often deferred considerably longer or discussed as a longer-term risk.

Flying is the question people ask most. Cabin pressure changes during descent are exactly the stress the middle ear is being protected from, so surgeons commonly ask patients to avoid air travel for several weeks after surgery and to be cleared at a follow-up visit first, according to the patient information cited. If you must travel sooner, tell the surgeon before booking so timing, decongestant classes and swallowing or yawning techniques can be discussed. None of these windows are fixed; the surgeon who saw inside your ear sets them.

Does a stapedectomy last a lifetime?

For many people, yes, though the honest version has qualifications. The prosthesis itself is made of materials chosen precisely because the body ignores them; it does not wear out the way a hip replacement can, and there is no routine need to replace it. Long-term follow-up described in patient education material and in the NIH’s hearing institute overview suggests that hearing gains are usually durable, and many people go decades without further ear surgery.

The qualifications fall into three groups. The first is the disease itself. Otosclerosis is progressive, and the abnormal bone can keep remodeling around the prosthesis or, less commonly, spread into the cochlea, producing a slow inner-ear loss that no piston can fix. This is why surgeons continue to check hearing periodically even after a good result, and why some people eventually add a hearing aid to a successfully operated ear.

The second is the prosthesis. Rarely, it can slip, erode the bone it is hooked around, or become surrounded by scar tissue, all of which show up as hearing that improves and then gradually or suddenly worsens. Sudden loss, new dizziness or a pop in the ear after a head knock or pressure change deserves prompt review; a revision operation is possible and is a decision for the treating team based on what they find.

The third is everything else. The other ear ages, noise exposure accumulates, and the brain’s ability to process sound in background noise changes with time. People sometimes attribute these to the surgery when they are simply what happens to hearing over decades.

A reasonable way to think about it: the operation fixes a mechanical problem and usually fixes it for good, but the ear it sits in is still a living, changing organ, and hearing care does not end at the three-month audiogram.

What are the risks, and what are the alternatives?

Stapedectomy has a long safety record, but it is surgery millimeters from the inner ear and the facial nerve, and a neutral account has to include what can go wrong. MedlinePlus lists the recognized complications as complete or partial hearing loss in the operated ear, dizziness, changes in taste, ringing in the ear, facial weakness, and infection. Most are temporary; a few are not.

The one patients fear most is also the least common: a profound, permanent loss in the operated ear, sometimes called a dead ear, which can follow inner-ear injury or infection. Because of it, surgeons are cautious about operating on an only hearing ear and are careful to describe this risk before consent. Tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing, often improves after surgery as hearing returns but can occasionally be new or louder. Facial weakness from bruising of the facial nerve is rare and usually recovers. A perilymph fistula, a persistent leak of inner-ear fluid around the prosthesis, can cause ongoing dizziness and fluctuating hearing and may need revision.

Alternatives exist, and a good consultation lays them out without steering. The main one is a hearing aid. Otosclerosis responds well to amplification because the inner ear is often healthy; sound just needs to be made louder to get across the block. Hearing aids carry no surgical risk and remain the preferred option for people with an only hearing ear, with medical reasons to avoid surgery, or who simply do not want an operation. Watchful waiting with repeat audiograms suits mild loss. Bone-anchored hearing devices are occasionally discussed when neither surgery nor conventional aids suit.

No option is right for everyone, and none is a failure to choose. The comparison worth making is not between surgery and doing nothing, but between the specific risks and likely benefits in your ears, which only your treating team can weigh with you.

What people often get wrong about stapedectomy recovery

Recovery forums are full of confident statements that do not survive contact with the evidence. A few deserve gentle correction.

The first is that hearing should be better as soon as you wake up. It almost never is. Packing, fluid and an irritable inner ear mean the operated ear commonly sounds worse for days and the first genuine improvement typically arrives over weeks, as the patient information in the references describes. Judging the operation in week one is like judging a cake at the moment it goes into the oven.

The second is that dizziness means something has gone wrong. Ordinary unsteadiness and movement-triggered spinning in the first days are expected consequences of opening the inner ear. What matters is the trajectory: steadily improving is normal, worsening or accompanied by sudden hearing loss is not.

The third is that the metallic taste means the surgeon damaged a nerve carelessly. The chorda tympani sits in the surgical path; moving or occasionally dividing it is a recognized, discussed part of the operation, and the taste change usually fades.

The fourth is that a stapedectomy fixes all hearing loss. It addresses the conductive block. Any inner-ear component from otosclerosis, age or noise remains, which is why some people with an excellent surgical result still benefit from a hearing aid.

The fifth is that the second ear can be done straight away. Nearly all surgeons wait until the first ear is healed and tested, because the result in the first ear informs the decision about the second.

The sixth is that once the three-month audiogram is good, the story is over. Otosclerosis is progressive, and periodic hearing checks remain sensible for life. None of these corrections should alarm anyone; they simply move expectations to where the evidence actually puts them, which is where recovery feels least frightening.

Questions to ask your care team

Consultations are short and the questions that matter tend to surface on the drive home. Writing them down beforehand changes the conversation. These are the ones that experienced patients say they wish they had asked, grouped by when they come up.

Before surgery, ask what your audiogram shows about the inner ear in the operated ear and the other ear, and how that shapes what improvement is realistic for you specifically. Ask whether the plan is a full stapedectomy or a small-hole stapedotomy and why. Ask how the surgeon handles the taste nerve and what they would do if it needed to be divided. Ask what would make them stop or abandon the operation once inside, since that is a known and sensible decision in some ears. And ask how hearing aids would compare in your case, so the choice is a genuine one.

For the first weeks, ask exactly how to keep the ear dry, what a normal amount of discharge looks like, when you may drive, and what to do if you catch a cold. Ask when your first follow-up is and whether the packing will be removed or left to dissolve. Ask which medicines you are being given, what each one is for, and how long the team expects you to need them; the answers belong to your prescribing clinician, not to a leaflet.

For the longer term, ask when the formal hearing test will be, how the second ear will be assessed, how often hearing should be checked afterward, and what symptoms should bring you back early. Finally, ask how to reach the team out of hours. Knowing the number is on the fridge makes the ordinary wobbles of recovery far easier to sit through.

• What does my inner ear look like on the audiogram, and what result is realistic?
• How will you handle the taste nerve?
• When can I fly, swim and lift?
• Which signs mean I should call today?

When to call your doctor

Most of stapedectomy recovery is patience. A small set of signs is not, and the distinction is worth learning before you need it, because judgment is harder when the room is spinning.

Call the surgical team the same day, or seek urgent care if you cannot reach them, for any of the following: a sudden, marked drop in hearing in the operated ear after it had started to improve, or a loud pop followed by worse hearing; severe or worsening vertigo, especially with repeated vomiting, after the first few days; new weakness or drooping on one side of the face, difficulty closing the eye or a lopsided smile; fresh, bright red bleeding from the ear canal that soaks the cotton rather than tinting it; thick, cloudy or foul-smelling discharge, or a fever with increasing ear pain, which can indicate infection; or a severe headache with a stiff neck, sensitivity to light or confusion, which is rare but needs emergency assessment.

Also ring, less urgently, if dizziness is not improving by the end of the first week, if taste changes or tinnitus are getting worse rather than better, if you develop a cold with a blocked nose and are unsure how to manage it, or if pain is increasing after initially settling. None of these necessarily mean a problem, but each is a reason for a professional to look rather than for you to wait and wonder.

Keep the team’s number where you can find it, note the date and time symptoms started, and do not blow your nose, fly, or put anything in the ear while you wait to be seen. Every decision about what happens next, including whether the ear needs to be examined, imaged or re-explored, rests with the surgeon who operated. Your job is to report clearly and early; theirs is to decide.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to heal after a stapedectomy?

Most people feel well enough for light routines within about a week, are released from most physical restrictions over the following several weeks, and reach a stable result around two to three months, according to patient education material in the references. The eardrum and inner ear heal on a slower clock than the way you feel, which is why hearing is judged later than comfort. Your surgeon sets the timeline for your ear.

How long does it take for hearing to recover after a stapedectomy?

Hearing often sounds worse for the first week while packing and fluid sit in the ear, then improves gradually over several weeks as they clear. Many people notice a real difference within a few weeks, and surgeons typically schedule the formal audiogram at six to twelve weeks because that is when the result is considered stable. The final level depends on how healthy the inner ear was before surgery.

Does a stapedectomy last a lifetime?

For many people the improvement is durable and the prosthesis does not need routine replacement, but otosclerosis itself is progressive and can continue to affect the inner ear over the years. Rarely, the prosthesis can shift or become surrounded by scar tissue, causing hearing to worsen again; revision surgery is possible. Periodic hearing checks after a successful operation are sensible for life.

How should I sleep after a stapedectomy?

Sleep with your head raised on two pillows or a propped bed for at least the first week, lying on your back or on the unoperated side so the ear is not compressed and the cotton stays in place. Move in and out of bed slowly through a sitting position to limit vertigo, and keep a dim light on so your eyes can help steady your balance at night.

Why is dizziness after stapedectomy worse when I move my head?

The balance organ shares fluid with the hearing organ, and opening the footplate briefly disturbs that fluid. Quick head movements ask the irritated balance system to respond faster than it currently can, producing a short spin. This movement-triggered dizziness usually eases over the first one to two weeks. Worsening vertigo, especially with vomiting or a sudden hearing drop, should be reported to your surgeon promptly.

Why does everything taste metallic after ear surgery?

The chorda tympani nerve, which carries taste from the front two-thirds of the tongue on one side, runs across the middle ear in the surgical path and is often moved aside or occasionally divided. A stretched nerve sends distorted signals that read as metallic, salty or flat. Patient information in the references describes this settling over weeks to a few months in most people, with a minority noticing a lasting change.

Can I fly after a stapedectomy?

Surgeons commonly ask patients to avoid flying for several weeks and to be cleared at a follow-up visit first, because cabin pressure changes on descent stress the healing eardrum and the newly placed prosthesis. If travel is unavoidable, discuss timing with your surgeon before booking so techniques for equalizing pressure and any suitable medicine classes can be considered. The exact window is set by your treating team.

Is it normal to hear worse right after surgery?

Yes. Dissolvable packing fills the ear canal, blood and fluid sit behind the eardrum, and the inner ear is irritable, so muffled hearing, pulsing or roaring sounds in the first days are expected and do not predict the final result. Improvement usually follows as the packing clears. A sudden drop after hearing had started to improve is different and should be reported the same day.

Can I have both ears operated on at once?

Almost never. Because every stapedectomy carries a small risk of worsening hearing in the operated ear, surgeons operate on one ear, wait for it to heal and be tested, typically a matter of months, and then decide about the second ear using that result. Operating on both at once would leave no safety margin if the inner ear reacted badly.

What is the difference between a stapedectomy and a stapedotomy?

In a stapedectomy most or all of the fixed stapes footplate is removed before the prosthesis is placed; in a stapedotomy the surgeon makes only a small hole in the footplate and seats the piston through it. Many surgeons now favor the small-hole technique, but both are commonly called stapedectomy in everyday language, and recovery expectations are broadly similar.

References

• Otosclerosis – National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH)
• Otosclerosis – MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.