Background and Objectives: Recently, myringoplasty, which does not require elevation of tympanomeatal flap, has drawn attention again as a minimally invasive surgery. This study assessed clinical usefulness of simple underlay myringoplasty in repairing dry perforated eardrum or chronic suppurative otitis media in aged and/or frail patients.Subjects and Method This retrospective study included patients who underwent simple underlay myringoplasty from February 1, 2017 to September 30, 2020, and who were monitored for more than 6 months after surgery. Major outcome measurements were determined by graft success and hearing results. Results: A total of 106 cases were studied. The overall graft success rate was 84.0% and the mean air-bone gap decreased by 7.8 dB postoperatively. The graft take was quite successful even in the cases of recurrent or chronic otorrhea in aged (≥70 years old) and/or frail patients. Conclusion Simple underlay myringoplasty could be used as a minimally invasive surgery in dry perforated eardrum. It could be also considered as the first surgical choice for recurrent or chronic otorrhea in chronic suppurative otitis media in aged and/or frail patients.

Lymph node metastases of thyroid papillary carcinomas typically occur in the central and lateral neck lymph nodes. Metastasis to the retropharyngeal node is rare for this tumor type, especially when accompanied with airway obstruction. We treated one patient with retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) metastasis of thyroid papillary carcinoma with airway obstruction. The RPLN was successfully resected without complications via transcervical approach. Although the present case is rare, metastasis to the retropharyngeal nodes should be considered at the time of diagnosis and follow-up for thyroid papillary carcinoma. The dissection of thyroid papillary carcinoma metastases to the RPLN should be based on estimated prognosis, complaints, performance status, surgical skill, and complications.