Abstract
A piece of dry temporal fascia were used for experimental myringoplasty following the total removal of the tympanic membrane in twenty one guinea pigs. Then we killed and removed the reconstructed tympanic membranes from the guinea pigs at the intervals of 4, 9, 12, 18, 24, 54 and 100 weeks and observed using a transmission electron microscope. After myringoplasty, the temporal fascia implanted were replaced by nonspecific inflammatory granulation tissues in the early stage and gradually underwent consolidation of the scar tissue. The specific fine fibrils in the tympanic membrane which were quadrangular and less than 10 nm thick did not appear in the restored tympanic membranes. Usual collagen fibrils, which were rarely seen in the normal tympanic membrane, dominated in the fibrous connective tissues of the restored tympanic membranes. The component of the restored tympanic membrane in the myringplasty was indicative of cicatrice tissue.
