Objective: The objective of this study is to describe what we consider to be the state-of-the-art procedure for the treatment of tympanic membrane perforations, and to present the results attained in our institution.
Study design: A retrospective cohort study, using data of Verona University Hospital, Italy. This medical record includes the data of 98 patients who underwent 100 transcanal endoscopic type I tympanoplasties from November 2014 to October 2017.
Setting: Tertiary referral center University Hospital of Verona, Italy.
Patients: Were enrolled 109 patients, that underwent endoscopic type I tympanoplasty in the period considered. Out of the selected patients, 11 (10.1%) were lost to long-term follow-up, and were therefore excluded from our study. Other exclusion criteria were surgical approaches that included other procedures. Patients whose follow-up was shorter than 6 months were excluded from this study.
Intervention: The technique is based on an endoscopic placement of underlay graft of temporal fascia or tragal cartilage. We consider the data of four surgeons from Verona University ENT department.
Main outcome measure: In the study we considered the reduction of the Air Bone Gap as functional outcome and the integrity of the reconstruction as anatomical outcome of success.
Results: No major intraoperative complications were observed. The closure rate was 86%. The mean surgery time was 48.6 minutes. The air bone gap was improved within 20 DB HL in 89% of patient. Only 8% of patients needed revision surgery, and none needed a third surgical evaluation.
Conclusion: Endoscopic ear surgery is by now a reality that has replaced in many cases exclusive microscopic ear surgery. Transcanal endoscopic type I tympanoplasty can be considered nowadays as an alternative technique for tympanic membrane perforations.