2016 Volume 59 Issue 1 Pages 19-25
Introduction: Minimally invasive tympanoplasty (MIT) is defined in this study as an endoscopic endaural tympanoplasty, involving only a small skin incision for procuring graft and no large incision of the posterior external auditory canal. MIT has several advantages as compared to conventional tympanoplasty (CT) carried out using a surgical microscope.
Material & Methods: We have performed type I tympanoplasty in 80 patients with chronic otitis media from January 2008 through December 2011. The patients' backgrounds and postoperative results were compared between 28 ears treated by MIT and 52 ears operated by CT. The number of MITs gradually increased to surpass the number of CTs from the year 2010. The width of the external auditory canal was measured by preoperative CT to determine whether the 2.7-mm-wide endoscope could be used for the endaural tympanoplasty.
Results: The postoperative results in terms of the perforation closure rate, re-perforation rate, hearing improvement and operation time were similar between the cases treated by MIT and those treated by CT. The 2.7-mm-wide endoscope could be used in all cases, including all adults and all children. The endoscopic operative view was wider and clearer in MIT than in CT.
Conclusion: MIT represents an endoaural approach for the treatment of tympanic perforation, involving only a small skin incision for fascial graft procurement and is applicable even to pediatric patients. MIT is less traumatic and provides a clearer operative view, and is therefore very useful and expected to be used increasingly widely in ear surgery.
