A Review on the History of Tympanoplasty

Abstract

The history of myringoplasty and tympanoplasty is one of the most interesting in the history of ear surgery. The aims and ambitions of otologists have evolved along with time and experience. The objective of this article is to give an idea about the evolution of tympanoplasty, thus giving inspiration to future surgeons in their quest for a perfect technique which would be as good as a normal ear and its hearing. The history of otology starts from the early Egyptian healers. Hippocrates in his time observed that ear infections may be cause of death especially in young children. Early surgeries were performed mainly for drainage in order to save the life of the child having the ear disease. With time and scientific developments newer methods of treatment started to evolve. The invention of antimicrobials and their usage threw a new light into the treatment of otology infections. Then after the advent of microscope and with better understanding of the anatomy and physiology of ear and its diseases treatment strategies and surgical planning kept on advancing. Surgeons with time have become more interested in returning back the hearing along with curing infection from ear. But the quest is on for the perfect surgical technique which would give best results with minimal maneuvering. History of tympanoplasty nearly sums up the history of evolution of otology as a whole. The quest is still on to devise a way so as to give maximum post-operative hearing using minimal instrumentation.

A Historical Review of Indian Perspectives on Techniques of Tympanoplasty

“…Banzer was the first to attempt repair of the perforated tympanic membrane in 1640. He used a pig's bladder stretched across an ivory tube and placed it in the ear [1]. Toynbee in 1853 placed a rubber disc attached to a silver wire and kept over the perforation resulting in hearing improvement [1].…”

“…He used a pig's bladder stretched across an ivory tube and placed it in the ear [1]. Toynbee in 1853 placed a rubber disc attached to a silver wire and kept over the perforation resulting in hearing improvement [1]. Sir William Wilde (1853) published a procedure for postaural incision and mastoid cortex removal [1].…”

“…Toynbee in 1853 placed a rubber disc attached to a silver wire and kept over the perforation resulting in hearing improvement [1]. Sir William Wilde (1853) published a procedure for postaural incision and mastoid cortex removal [1]. Blake in 1877 placed a paper patch on a tympanic membrane perforation and observed hearing improvement in many patients [1].…”

Overview of tympanoplasty techniques and results

“…Berthold had done first tympanoplasty in 1878 by applying plaster on de-epithelialized the tympanic membrane remnants for 3 days and removal of plaster applying skin graft over the defect. 1 Various surgeons have used different kinds of grafts to repair tympanic membrane perforations. Most popular are auto grafts.…”

Tinnitus and taste disturbances reported after myringoplasty: Data from a national quality registry

“…Myringoplasty is a surgical procedure that restores a perforated tympanic membrane (TM) to regain a functional ear. 1 In Sweden, myringoplasty is usually performed as an underlay technique using an autologous grafting material for which fascia is the most common material. 2 This procedure can be performed with either an endomeatal or retroauricular approach (hereafter referred to as conventional myringoplasty).…”