Topical treatment with 1% sterile sodium hyaluronate solution applied on the tympanic perforation membrane has been suggested as an alternative to surgical treatment in one study only. To further investigate the effects of such a treatment, we designed a double blind study comparing topical administration of 1% sodium hyaluronate with that of 2% methylcellulose solution (placebo). After treatment the degree of perforation healing was evaluated and expressed in percentage of reduction area. The reduced area turned out to be significantly different in the group treated with sodium hyaluronate solution as compared to the placebo group. We believe that sodium hyaluronate is an alternative to myringoplasty for selected tympanic membrane perforations.
The effects of topically applied 1% sodium hyaluronate as an alternative treatment to surgery for tympanic membrane perforations was studied. In an open study, the inclusion criteria were increased by accepting patients previously treated by surgery or with placebo and, compared with a previous study, the frequency at which sodium hyaluronate was applied was reduced. Reduction in the size of the perforation was detected in 12/16 (75.0%) patients, six (37.5%) of whom showed complete tympanic healing, and in the remaining four (25.0%) there was no healing. The average percentage reduction in the perforation area was 80.5%. The two factors altered in this trial, i.e. inclusion criteria and frequency of administration of treatment, had little influence on the degree of membrane healing.
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