Type 1 tympanoplasty: does the status of contralateral ear affect the outcome?

Abstract

For decades various factors that directly or indirectly indicate Eustachian tube dysfunction has been studied to predict the success of ear surgery. 7,8 In this study we ABSTRACT Background: The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of contralateral ear status on the success rate (anatomical closure) of type 1 tympanoplasty. Methods: The study is a prospective observational study comprising of 60 patients diagnosed with chronic otitis media, who underwent type 1 tympanoplasty during 2016-2018 in a tertiary care hospital. Results: In our study, contralateral ear was normal in 40 (66.7%) cases & diseased in 20 (33.3%) cases. Success rate of type 1 tympanoplasty in patients with normal contralateral ear was 90% (n=36) but success rate was only 60% (n=12) in diseased contralateral ear. This was statistically significant (p=0.006). Conclusions:Our study revealed that the status of the opposite ear is an individual prognostic factor for type 1 tympanoplasty. In other words, graft-healing rates are poorer in individuals whose opposite ears are atelectatic or perforated because of chronic otitis media.