Objectives/Hypothesis: Cartilage-perichondrium grafting of the tympanic membrane has been used in an effort to reduce recurrence or progression of middle ear disease. The rigidity of cartilage has obvious benefit in preventing tympanic membrane retraction, but concern has been raised regarding its sound conduction properties. Few studies in the literature address hearing results after cartilage tympanoplasty. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hearing results after primary cartilage tympanoplasty and compare them with results after primary tympanoplasty with temporalis fascia. Study Design: A retrospective review of all ear surgeries using cartilage between 1994 and 1999 was performed. Methods: Only primary cases in which the ossicular chain was intact and no mastoid surgery was performed were included. Indications for surgery included tympanic membrane perforation, retraction, and cholesteatoma. Pre-and postoperative speech reception thresholds and air-bone gaps at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, and 4000 Hz were compared. Results: Eleven patients comprised the cartilage study group, and there were 11 age-and temporally matched control subjects. The mean improvement in speech reception threshold for both the study group and the control group was 10 dB. The majority of patients in both groups had ABG closure to within 10 dB at all frequencies examined. There were no statistically significant differences in speech reception threshold improvement or air-bone gap closures between the two groups. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that hearing results after cartilage tympanoplasty are comparable to those after temporalis fascia tympanoplasty. Therefore, when indicated, a cartilage-perichondrium graft can be used for prevention of disease recurrence or progression without fear of impairing hearing.

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Background: Since the advent of robotic-assisted surgery, the value of using robotic systems

Background With the development of laser‐assisted platforms, the outcomes of cataract surgery have been improved by automating several procedures. The cataract‐extraction step continues to be manually performed, but due to deficiencies in sensing capabilities, surgical complications such as posterior capsule rupture and incomplete cataract removal remain. Methods An optical coherence tomography (OCT) system is integrated into our intraocular robotic interventional surgical system (IRISS) robot. The OCT images are used for preoperative planning and intraoperative intervention in a series of automated procedures. Real‐time intervention allows surgeons to evaluate the progress and override the operation. Results The developed system was validated by performing lens extraction on 30 postmortem pig eyes. Complete lens extraction was achieved on 25 eyes, and “almost complete” extraction was achieved on the remainder due to an inability to image small lens particles behind the iris. No capsule rupture was found. Conclusion The IRISS successfully demonstrated semiautomated OCT‐guided lens removal with real‐time supervision and intervention.

We conclude that intracoronary MgSO4 delivered during reperfusion can significantly diminish infarct size in swine, but the timing of administration is critical.