Endoscopic type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty in children

Abstract

Objectives: Endoscopic type 1 tympanoplasty using cartilage grafts for repair of chronic tympanic membrane perforation is increasing. the aim of this study was to evaluate the results of endoscopic type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty in children. Materials and methods: Patients under 18 years of age who underwent type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty between January 2013 and February 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Anatomic success rate was calculated according to the intact status of the graft. Air conduction (AC), bone conduction (BC), air-bone gap (ABG) and hearing gain were calculated using pure tone audiometry tests at pre-operative, and 6th month postoperative period. Patients with postoperative ABG <= 20 dB were considered as functionally successful. Results: the study included 56 patients (6 bilateral) and 62 ears. the anatomic success rate of our study was 91.9% (57/62). Preoperative AC was 36.4 +/- 6.5 (21-50) dB, BC was 7.8 +/- 3.7 (5-25) dB, and ABG was 28.6 +/- 6.9 (10-41) dB. Postoperative AC was 24.5 +/- 8.8 (7-45) dB, BC was 7.6 +/- 3.4 (5-19) dB, and ABG was 16.9 +/- 7.4 (2-32) dB. There was no change in postoperative BC (p: 0.683), whereas AC, and ABG significantly decreased (p < 0.001). Mean hearing gain was 12.1 +/- 6.2 (3-26) dB and the functional success rate was 72.5% (45/62). Conclusion: Endoscopic type 1 cartilage tympanoplasty, a minimally invasive surgical procedure, provided successful functional and anatomical results at the pediatric population.