1996 Volume 89 Issue 4 Pages 425-427
Seven patients with post-traumatic ossicular disruption are described. Average hearing impairment for the 7 patients was 45.9dB. An exploratory tympanotomy was carried out in all patients.
During surgery, discontinuity was found in the incudostapedial (IS) joint in 4 patients, in the malleoincudal (MI) joint in 1 patient, and in both the IS and MI joint in 2 patients.
The discontinuity was reconstructed by type III tympanoplasty in 6 patients. Four of the total 7 patients were transposed and the incus body was trimmed. The other 2 patients were PORP. Hearing impairment averaged 13.1dB after tympanoplasty.
Cases of conductive deafness are occasionally encountered, in which it is difficult to confirm the presence of pathological lesions by conventional hearing and imaging tests, necessitating exploratory surgery. It is possible to improve hearing impairment significantly in many of these cases by performing a tympanoplasty. Therefore, in patients with similar lesions after head trauma, aggressive treatment is recommended with prerequisite informed consent.
