Patients with patulous Eustachian tubes(PET) usually suffer from annoying symptoms, such as tinnitus, autophony and aural fullness, due to the excessive opening of the Eustachian tube. There is no uniform standard of treatment, and conservative therapy combined with"Stepup"surgical intervention strategy is the main treatment. In this article, we reviewed various surgical treatments of patulous Eustachian tube in recent years, including key points of surgical operation, effectiveness, safety and complications. Full communication and evaluation are needed to establish appropriate patients' expectations preoperatively. A "Stepup" treatment strategy will be carried out, including conservative treatment, tympanic membrane surgery, Eustachian tube pharyngeal orifice constriction surgery, Eustachian tube tympanic orifice plug surgery and Eustachian tube muscle surgery, which aims to maintain normal Eustachian tube function and good middle ear ventilation.
Humans ; Eustachian Tube/surgery* ; Ear Diseases/diagnosis* ; Ear, Middle ; Tympanic Membrane/surgery* ; Tinnitus ; Otitis Media

Objective: To investigate the middle ear function of the patients with cleft palate pre and post palatoplasty. Methods: 76 patients with cleft palate were investigated by clinical history and audiology examinations including electric otoscopy,tympanometry and click-ABR threshold. Results: The risk for middle ear function decreased with advancing age in the first 5 years. It was noticed that the otologic outcomes was related to the CP type. During long time follow-up, the frequency with the middle ear function disorder was always high within the CP patients but the proportion of the patients received tympanostomy tubes was low relatively. The prevalence of middle ear dysfunction did not differ with the time of cleft palate repair. Conclusion: The patients with cleft palate have middle ear function dysfunction in a long period of time,therefore a standard long-time follow-up system is necessary.
Acoustic Impedance Tests ; Child, Preschool ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Ear, Middle ; Humans ; Middle Ear Ventilation ; Otitis Media with Effusion/surgery*

Body Fluids ; Child ; Humans ; Middle Ear Ventilation ; Otitis Media ; Otitis Media with Effusion/surgery*

To evaluate the clinical value of submucosal injection of pharyngeal ostium of Eustachian tube in diagnosing patulous Eustachian tube(PET).Twenty-six patients(32 sides),whose the symptoms were consistent with PET,were enrolled from March 2014 to May 2016.The symptoms and signs of all patients were evaluated after submucosal injection of saline into the Eustachian tube.Immediately after submucosal injection of saline into the Eustachian tube,the symptoms and signs disappeared in 24 cases(29 sides),and improved in 2 cases(3 sides).The resolution and/or improvement of symptoms and signs lasted for less than 24 hours in 12 patients,for more than 24 hours in 9 patients,and for more than 48 hours in 4 patients.No adverse reactions were observed.Submucosal injection may be a simple and practical method for auxiliary diagnosis of PET,and may be used in preoperative evaluation of Eustachian tuboplasty.
Ear Diseases ; diagnosis ; Eustachian Tube ; physiopathology ; surgery ; Humans ; Injections ; Otitis Media ; Pharynx ; Preoperative Care

INTRODUCTIONWith the advent of antibiotics, complications of otitis media have become less common. It is crucial for physicians to recognise otitis media and treat its complications early. Herein, we present our institution's experience with patients who required emergency surgical intervention for complications of otitis media.

METHODSData on patients who underwent emergency surgery for complications of otitis media from 2004 to 2011 was retrieved from the archives of the Department of Otolaryngology, Changi General Hospital, Singapore.

RESULTSA total of 12 patients (10 male, two female) underwent emergency surgery for complications of otitis media. The median age of the patients was 25 years. Otalgia, otorrhoea, headache and fever were the main presenting symptoms. Extracranial complications were observed in 11 patients, and six patients had associated intracranial complications. The primary otologic disease was acute otitis media in six patients, chronic otitis media without cholesteatoma in three patients and chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma in three patients. Mastoidectomy and drainage of abscess through the mastoid, with insertion of grommet tube, was the main surgical approach. Two patients required craniotomy. The mean length of hospital stay was 16.2 days and the mean follow-up period was 16.3 months. Five patients had residual conductive hearing loss; two patients with facial palsy had full recovery.

CONCLUSIONOtitis media can still result in serious complications in the post-antibiotic era. Patients with otitis media should be monitored, and prompt surgical intervention should be performed when necessary to attain good outcomes.

Adult ; Audiometry ; Chronic Disease ; Facial Paralysis ; complications ; Female ; Fever ; complications ; Hospitals ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Otitis Media ; complications ; diagnostic imaging ; surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo analyze factors relevant to revisional tympanomastoid surgery for chronic otitis media(COM).

METHODSThe clinical data of 159 patients (159 ears), who exhibited either wet ear or relapsed after the initial operation, and were subjected to revisional tympanomastoid surgery, were retrospectively analyzed in this study. Of those 159 consecutive patients, 85 were males and 74 were females, aged 11-64 years, with a median age of 36 years old. The situations in terms of intra-operative findings, surgical procedures, change dressing post-operation, dry ear time, and the improvement of aural ability during the second operation, were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTSThe second surgery found that, of those 159 patients underwent the re-operation, 67 presented with cholesteatoma and 92 had no cholesteatoma. In addition, the inadequate skeletonization and insufficient opening for mastoid cavity accounted for 70.4% (112/159) of all previous operations, the external auditory canal stenosis for 98.7% (157/159), the high facial ridge leading to insufficient drainage for 61.0% (97/159), the lesion in tympanic ostium of Eustachian tube for 34.6% (55/159), the insufficient drainage due to inappropriate post-operating dressing for 5.0% (8/159), the postauricular incision for 30.8% (49/159), and the endaural incision for 69.2% (110/159). As for the re-operation of the canal wall down mastoidectomy, tympanoplasty plus plastic repairing of cavity of concha were performed in 94 cases, the modified Bondy plus plastic repairing of cavity of concha in four cases, the radical mastoidectomy plus plastic repairing of cavity of concha in 59 cases, and the simple cleaning for mastoid cavity in two cases. Since one to two weeks after the revisional operations, the post-operating dressing was performed with aid of microscopy once a week on average. The average dry ear time ranged from 2 to 6 weeks (median=3 weeks). During a period of 6-93 months for the follow-up, all patients presented with dry ears. The epithelialization of the operating cavity was well and the tympanic membranes were integrity. Neither granulation tissue nor cholesteatoma was found to reoccur. Both pure tone hearing thresholds and air-bone gap decreased in 87 cases after the revisional operation, with statistically significant different in comparison to those two parameters before the operation (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe primary causes responsible for the wet ear or reoccurrent cholesteatoma after tympanomastoid surgery may be related to the improper operation procedures and selection of incision, the non-standard operation, inexhaustive removal of pathological tissues, as well as the irregular postoperation change dressing, and other factors.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear ; surgery ; Chronic Disease ; Ear Auricle ; surgery ; Eustachian Tube ; pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mastoid ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Otitis Media ; surgery ; Postoperative Period ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Tympanic Membrane ; pathology ; surgery ; Tympanoplasty ; Young Adult

This study compared long-term speech performance after cochlear implantation (CI) between surgical strategies in patients with chronic otitis media (COM). Thirty patients with available open-set sentence scores measured more than 2 yr postoperatively were included: 17 who received one-stage surgeries (One-stage group), and the other 13 underwent two-stage surgeries (Two-stage group). Preoperative inflammatory status, intraoperative procedures, postoperative outcomes were compared. Among 17 patients in One-stage group, 12 underwent CI accompanied with the eradication of inflammation; CI without eradicating inflammation was performed on 3 patients; 2 underwent CIs via the transcanal approach. Thirteen patients in Two-stage group received the complete eradication of inflammation as first-stage surgery, and CI was performed as second-stage surgery after a mean interval of 8.2 months. Additional control of inflammation was performed in 2 patients at second-stage surgery for cavity problem and cholesteatoma, respectively. There were 2 cases of electrode exposure as postoperative complication in the two-stage group; new electrode arrays were inserted and covered by local flaps. The open-set sentence scores of Two-stage group were not significantly higher than those of One-stage group at 1, 2, 3, and 5 yr postoperatively. Postoperative long-term speech performance is equivalent when either of two surgical strategies is used to treat appropriately selected candidates.
Adult ; Aged ; Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear/epidemiology ; Chronic Disease/therapy ; Cochlear Implantation/*adverse effects ; Cochlear Implants/*adverse effects ; Female ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/*surgery ; Humans ; Inflammation/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Otitis Media/*surgery ; Retrospective Studies ; *Speech Articulation Tests ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: Through the application of eustachian tuboplasty assisted with hypothermy plasma ablation, we evaluate its efficacy in the threatment of adult refractory otitis media with effusion. METHOD: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 48 cases (61 ears) suffering from adult refractory otitis media with effusion from January 2012 to December 2013. According to the admission date, the patients were divided into the control group (17 cases, 22 ears) and the treatment group (31 cases, 39 ears). In the control group, the patients were treated with drugs and physical therapy. In the treatment group, the hypothermy plasma ablation technology was used to ablates the hypertrophic tissues around the eustachian orifice besides the pharmaedogical interventions. The recurrence rate of the two groups were analyzed and compared in 1 year after treatment. Pure tone audiometry and acoustic immittance measurement were taken for the two groups in differernt periods (one week prior to operation, one months, three months, six months and one year after operation respectively) to evaluate their hearing change and the recurrence rate (within six months after treatment and one year respectively) objectively. RESULT: In the control group, 2 cases (2 ears) were lost to follow-up, and the recurrence rate was 65% (13/20) in 1 year. In the treatment group, four case were lost to follow-up,and the recurrence rate was 14.3% (5/35) in 1 year. The difference was statistically significant (P<0. 01). There were similar hearing improvement in the two groups after treatment in 1 month, but the hearing improvement in the treatment group increased with time. There were no complications occuring during the operation and post-operation. Within a month after operation, the majority of ears(28/35) obtained significant hearing improvement with the decreasing air-bone-gap comparision with the pre-operation (P < 0.01), and the preoperative tympanogram of 16 ears with type B or C turned to type A (P < 0.01). There were no both statistical significance in the variation of air-bone-gap and tympanogram of comparison with results between three months and six months, six months and one year postoperatively (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION This study confirmed the efficacy of eustachian tuboplasty assisted with hypothermy plasma ablation in the threatment of adult refractory otitis media with effusion caused by eustachian tube opening disorder was significant. It can reduce the recurrence rate significantly in one year and allow sustained hearing improvement within three months postoperatively.
Acoustic Impedance Tests ; Adult ; Audiometry, Pure-Tone ; Cryosurgery ; Eustachian Tube ; surgery ; Humans ; Lost to Follow-Up ; Otitis Media with Effusion ; drug therapy ; surgery ; Plasma Gases ; Postoperative Period ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Tympanoplasty

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the reconstruction method of lateral attic wall with tragal cartilage and temporalis fascia graft. And analyze the postoperative result of its clinical application. METHOD: From Jan 2005 to Jul 2014, 45 patients whose middle ear disease were limited to attic received this surgery in our department. Among 31 cases of cholesteatoma otitis media and 14 cases of external auditory canal cholesteatoma were included. In order to expose the attic fully, we operated epitympanotomy through retroauricular incision and then removed the scutum and lateral attic bone wall. After eliminating the lesions, we reconstructed the lateral attic bone wall with tragal cartilage, covered the cartilage with temporalis fascia and then repaired the tympanic membrane and external ear canal skin. After surgery, all patients were followed up at 10 days, 1 month, 2 months, 6 months and 1 year. RESULT: Two months after surgery, 45 patients' achieved one-stage wound healing. Six months later, all of the patients' operation area had epithelized completely. After 1 year, 37 patients had recovered the normal shapes and stable audition; 7 cases patients have different level tympanic membrane retraction; 1 patient suffered from tympanic membrane retraction and recurrent cholesteatoma. CONCLUSION With regard to the lesion limited to the attic, we can remove it by operating epitympanotomy through retroauricular incision, and then reconstruct the lateral attic wall with tragal cartilage and temporalis fascia. By the support of the cartilage, we can keep the epitympanic aeration, reduce the retraction of pars flaccida membrana tympani, and maintain the fundamental shape of lateral attic wall.
Cartilage ; transplantation ; Cholesteatoma ; surgery ; Ear Auricle ; Ear Canal ; Ear Diseases ; surgery ; Ear, Middle ; pathology ; Fascia ; transplantation ; Humans ; Mastoid ; Otitis Media ; surgery ; Tympanic Membrane ; surgery ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation ; surgery

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role and significance of pepsin and pepsinogen in the pathogenesis of OME in children. METHOD: Pediatric patients with otitis media aged 2-8 years who enrolled in our department of the hospital from May of 2012 to December of 2012 were set as experimental group (38 cases, 48 ears) which should be underwent tympanic membrane puncture/tube insertion. Meanwhile, pediatric patients waiting for cochlear implant without otitis media (10 ears), were set as control group. Middle ear lavage fluid and plasma samples from the two groups were collected and detected using enzyme-linked immune method for pepsin and pepsinogen. RESULT: The concentrations of pepsin and pepsinogen in the middle ear lavage fluid of OME group [(48.8 ± 415.99) ng/ml and 676.32 ± 336.71)ng/ml] were significantly higher than those in the control group [(8.20 ± 4.59)ng/ml and (77.27 ± 50.33) ng/ml] (P < 0.01). Meanwhile, the concentration of pepsinogen in the middle ear lavage of OME patients was significantly higher than that of plasma (P < 0.01). The concentration of pepsin in the middle ear lavage fluid from the dry ear subgroup was lower than those in the serum ear and mucous ear subgroups (P < 0.01), but there was no significant difference about concentrations of pepsinogen among the dry ear, serum ear and mucous ear subgroups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION Pepsin and pepsinogen in the middle ear cavity of OME patients maybe originated from laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), indicating that LPR is associated with the pathogenesis of OME in children.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Ear, Middle ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Laryngopharyngeal Reflux ; physiopathology ; Otitis Media with Effusion ; metabolism ; Pepsin A ; metabolism ; Pepsinogen A ; metabolism ; Tympanic Membrane ; surgery