2016 Volume 26 Issue 5 Pages 644-649
Widely denuded bony ear canal presents an important issue during the surgical treatment of severely lateralized tympanic membranes, as it may lead to prolonged epithelialization and disease recurrence. Surgical treatment for a lateralized tympanic membrane was performed in 6 cases. All patients were followed for more than one year. After the reconstruction and appropriate placement of the tympanic membrane, a postauricular periosteal-pericranial flap was applied to the denuded bony canal. Any necessary ossicular reconstruction was then performed. Reepithelization occurred faster in the 6 cases described in this study than in previous cases in which a split-thickness skin graft was applied to the denuded bone. Of the 6 ears, 4 (66.7%) displayed post-operative air-bone gaps of 20 dB or better. In 3 cases, the postoperative findings of the tympanic membrane showed a favorable appearance; anterior blunting was seen in 2 cases. Medial meatal fibrosis occurred in the remaining case. A postoperative computed tomography examination showed the inadequate removal of the anterior bony ear canal in the cases with poor tympanic membranes. Periosteal-pericranial flaps are long enough to cover the entire bony wall and are thin enough to be easily manipulated within the ear canal. Therefore, such flaps are useful for covering the bony ear canal. In addition, they are easy to prepare and produce promising results.
