Abstract
The relationship among the extent of cholesteatoma and re-pneumatization, hearing improvement, recurrence rate after canal wall up tympanoplasty (CWU) were evaluated in 109 cases of pars flaccida cholesteatoma. Subjects were divided into 3 groups according to the extent of cholesteatoma based on the staging criteria for cholesteatoma 2008 Japan. The extent of postoperative aeration was widely variable in cases showing the same stage preoperatively. The staging of cholesteatoma did not show any consistent relationship to postoperative pneumatization. However, in cases showing aeration in the mastoid, re-pneumatization to the attic or mastoid was achieved even in cases showing the same cholesteatoma stage. The postoperative hearing level was not influenced to the extent of cholesteatoma. The postoperative recurrence rate increased with more extensive cholesteatoma. We could not necessarily predict the extent of re-pneumatization based on the staging of cholesteatoma, however the postoperative recurrence rate was affected by cholesteatoma staging.
