Abstract
The treatment of persistent tympanic membrane perforation is tympanoplasty. Presence of perforation in the anterior annulus of the patients undergoing tympanoplasty surgery is a commonly encountered problem in the postoperative period. In this study, we investigated the effects of supporting anterior tympanomeatal angle with a secondary layer of temporal muscle fascia graft in the patients undergoing type 1 tympanoplasty on postoperative hearing outcomes and early graft success. Twenty-seven patients from our clinic who underwent surgery due to chronic otitis media (COM) and whose anterior tympanomeatal angles were supported with temporal muscle fascia graft as a secondary layer were included in the study. Twelve of the patients were male and 15 of them were female. The mean age of the patients was 43,1 years. The data obtained with retrospective investigations of the patient files were statistically analyzed. Audiological results of 27 patients were obtained in the postoperative 3rd month and were compared with the preoperative results. Preoperative pure tone average of bone-conduction and air conduction were 14,68 ± 7,08 dB and 41,63 ± 9,83 dB, respectively. Postoperative pure tone averages of bone-conduction and air conduction were determined to be 15,02 ± 6,40 dB and 26,38 ± 12,79 dB, respectively. The grafts of all patients were intact at the postoperative 3rd month. We can describe the technique we used as modified sandwich tympanoplasty. In this study we found that in patients that undergoing type 1 tympanoplasty, supporting the anterior tympanomeatal angle with temporal muscle fascia graft as a secondary layer is successful in terms of hearing outcomes and graft success.