Objective:To compare the differences in postoperative healing rates, hearing improvement, and complication rates between endoscopic butterfly inlay cartilage tympanoplasty and underlay cartilage tympanoplasty in Small-to-Medium-Sized Tympanic Membrane Perforations, and to provide clinical basis for indication of the butterfly inlay cartilage tympanoplasty. Methods:This study enrolled patients with chronic suppurative otitis media or traumatic tympanic membrane perforations who were treated at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, between January 2022 and May 2023. Inclusion criteria comprised a dry ear period exceeding 3 months, absence of middle ear or mastoid pathology confirmed by temporal bone CT, and an air-bone gap of less than 40 dB. All surgeries were performed by the same surgeon using tympanoplasty techniques. Based on the surgical approach and perforation size, patients were categorized into four groups: Group A（butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty, perforation ≤3 mm）: 23 cases. Group B（butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty, perforation 3-5 mm）: 17 cases. Group C（full-thickness cartilage underlay tympanoplasty, perforation ≤3 mm）: 12 cases. Group D（full-thickness cartilage underlay tympanoplasty, perforation 3-5 mm）: 22 cases. Data collected included perforation duration, preoperative Eustachian Tube Score（ETS）, pure-tone audiometry, otoscopic findings, and postoperative follow-up data on pure-tone thresholds, otoscopic outcomes, and complications such as graft infection and otorrhea. Results: The mean postoperative follow-up period was 4 months （range: 3-12 months）. A total of 74 patients were enrolled, including 40 undergoing butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty and 34 receiving full-thickness cartilage inlay tympanoplasty. In the <3 mm perforation subgroup, the patients receiving butterfly technique （23 cases） exhibited a postoperative air-bone gap （ABG） improvement of （2.33±8.21） dB, and those receiving the inlay technique （12 cases） showed an ABG improvement of （2.49±7.9） dB, with no statistically significant difference between the two groups （P>0.05）. In the 3-5 mm perforation subgroup, the patients receiving butterfly technique （17 cases） demonstrated an ABG improvement of （8.16±5.69） dB, and those receiving the inlay technique （22 cases） achieved an ABG improvement of （8.08±10.42） dB, which were not significantly different （P>0.05）. Tympanic membrane healing rates across the four subgroups were 95.65%, 94.12%, 100%, and 95.45%, respectively, with no statistically significant differences （P>0.05）. Conclusion:In patients with tympanic membrane perforations ≤3 mm and 3-5 mm, butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty achieves comparable audiological outcomes to full-thickness cartilage underlay tympanoplasty. Compared with the underlay technique, the butterfly method is less invasive, preserves the normal anatomical structure of the tympanic membrane, requires a shorter dry ear period, and yields higher patient satisfaction. Therefore, it can be safely recommended for perforations ≤5 mm that do not require tympanotomy exploration.
Humans ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation/surgery* ; Tympanoplasty/methods* ; Treatment Outcome ; Endoscopy ; Cartilage/transplantation* ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Myringoplasty/methods* ; Otitis Media, Suppurative/surgery* ; Aged

Objective:To investigate the clinical value of tympanic membrane repairment with modified ear canal flap under endoscope. Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 62 patients who underwent simple tympanic membrane perforation repair surgery in our hospital from August 2019 to January 2023. All patients were divided into two groups: 37 cases in the otoscopy group and 25 cases in the microscope group. The surgical duration, postoperative pain response, and postoperative tympanic membrane healing and hearing recovery were compared between the two groups. Results:Compared with the microscope group, the total surgical duration of the otoscopy group was significantly shortened[（70.4±13.2） min vs. （102.8±17.5） min, P<0.001], and there was a statistically significant difference in postoperative VAS pain score[（3.1±1.2） vs. （6.5±1.4）, P<0.001]. The two groups achieved tympanic membrane healing and no infection occurred after operation. There was no significant difference in postoperative hearing recovery between the two groups（P>0.05）. Conclusion:Modified tympanic membrane repairment through otoscope can greatly shorten the operation time and reduce the hospitalization cost, which is more suitable for the application of primary hospitals.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Female ; Male ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation/surgery* ; Surgical Flaps ; Ear Canal/surgery* ; Tympanic Membrane/surgery* ; Endoscopy/methods* ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Operative Time ; Otoscopy/methods* ; Dissection/methods*

Objective: To compare the effect of topical epidermal growth factor (EGF) instillation versus observation alone on healing of acute tympanic membrane perforations in terms of closure and hearing test results. Methods: Design: Randomized, Open label, Clinical Trial. Setting: Tertiary Government Training Hospital. Participants: Seventeen (17) ENT-HNS OPD patients aged between 18 to 65 years old diagnosed with acute tympanic membrane perforation were included in the study. Group A underwent observation while group B was treated with recombinant human EGF solution. Follow- up was on a weekly basis (7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days) where video otoscopy for documentation and measurement of perforation using ImageJTM software was done. Pure tone audiometry was used to compare hearing improvement pre and post study in both observation and treatment groups. Results: At baseline, there was no significant difference in the sizes of perforations: 24.20 ± 9.95 (treatment) vs. 32.64 ± 11.62 (observation) with a p-value of .131. Following treatment, mean changes in perforation size were significantly greater in the treatment group compared to the observation group from baseline to day 7 (M = -9.08, n = 15.11 vs. M = -1.06, n = 31.58); p = .009; day 7 to 14 (M = -6.37, n = 13.78 vs. M = -0.79, n = 30.79); p = .003; and from day 14 to 21 (M = -5.65, n = 10.89 vs. M = -0.72, n = 30.07); p = .004 but not from day 21 to 28 (M = -4.16, n = 13.99 vs. M = -0.36, n = 29.71; p = .021. From baseline pure tone averages, four participants with mild hearing loss and two with moderate hearing loss achieved normal hearing in the treatment group (while one each with moderate and severe hearing loss did not improve). None of the observation group participants had improved hearing. Conclusion Based on our limited experience, topical EGF can be used for traumatic tympanic membrane perforation and otitis media with dry ear perforation during the acute phase or within 3 months of perforation.
Tympanic Membrane Perforation ; Otitis Media ; Hearing Loss ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation ; Wound Healing

Objective To explore the factors related to tympanic membrane perforation in children with acute suppurative otitis media,and to provide reference for clinical practice. Methods We reviewed the clinical data of 1274 children with acute suppurative otitis media from February 2017 to May 2020,and analyzed the factors related to tympanic membrane perforation. Results Tympanic membrane perforation occurred in 67 out of the 1274 children with acute suppurative otitis media,with the incidence of 5.27%.The univariate analysis showed that 11 factors including the duration of onset(
Child ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Otitis Media, Suppurative/complications* ; Procalcitonin ; Risk Factors ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation/etiology*

Objective: To evaluate the preliminary surgical results of Endoscopic Type I Tympanoplasty among patients with inactive chronic otitis media without ossicular pathology. Methods: Design: Prospective Series. Setting: Tertiary Government Hospital. Participants: Seventy patients with inactive mucosal chronic otitis media (COM) with air bone gap (ABG) of ≤ 40 dB on the preoperative audiogram scheduled to undergo Type I Tympanoplasty between July 2018 and December 2020 were enrolled. Results: Seventy-three (73) ears were evaluated. The overall rate of graft uptake was 95.9% at 12 weeks. There was a statistically significant (p<.001) improvement in hearing on comparison of pre-operative (25.74 ± 7.34 dB) and post-operative (14.82 ± 6.55 dB) air bone gap. The duration of surgery was less than one hour in 76.7% and 77.2 % patients experienced only mild post[1]operative pain. Conclusion Endoscopic tympanoplasty can provide good results with respect to graft uptake and hearing gain with short surgical duration and minimum postoperative morbidity. Longer follow up of at least 6 months (for graft uptake) and preferably not less than 12 months (for hearing results) may confirm our preliminary findings.
Pain, Postoperative ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation ; Hearing ; Morbidity

Malignancy of the middle ear is rare and its estimated incidence is 0.18 cases per million people in the US, with its most common type being squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma in situ is thought to be a precursor to squamous cell carcinoma, which is extremely rare in the middle ear. The pathology reports of squamous cell carcinoma have not been well-characterized as it has not been reported to date in Korea. Here, we report a case of squamous cell carcinoma in situ of the middle ear in a 66-year-old man, who presented with otorrhea and tympanic membrane perforation.
Aged ; Carcinoma in Situ ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Ear, Middle ; Epithelial Cells ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Pathology ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation

Pneumolabyrinth is an uncommon condition in which air is present in the vestibule or cochlear. It is rarely found, even in otic capsule violating fractures or in transverse fracture of the temporal bone. So far, there is no consensus on management of pneumolabyrinth. We describe 2 new cases of pneumolabyrinth by penetrating injury with traumatic tympanic membrane perforation. They presented whirling vertigo with moderate conductive hearing loss. Temporal bone computed tomography clearly demonstrated the presence of air in the vestibule and cochlear.
Consensus ; Hearing Loss, Conductive ; Temporal Bone ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation ; Tympanic Membrane ; Vertigo

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Inlay butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty makes the graft easy, and reduces operating time. The present study aimed to investigate the outcomes of microscopic versus endoscopic inlay butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, the outcomes of 63 patients who underwent inlay butterfly cartilage tympanoplasty with small to medium chronic tympanic membrane perforation were evaluated. Twenty-four patients underwent conventional microscopic tympanoplasty and 39 underwent endoscopic tympanoplasty. The outcomes were analyzed in terms of the hearing gain and graft success rate. RESULTS: The surgical success rate was 95.8% in the patients who underwent conventional microscopic tympanoplasty and 92.3% in those who underwent endoscopic tympanoplasty. In both groups of patients, the postoperative air-bone gap (ABG) was significantly lower than the preoperative ABG. There were no significant differences between the preoperative and postoperative ABG values in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic inlay tympanoplasty using the butterfly cartilage technique appears to be an effective alternative to microscopic tympanoplasty and results in excellent hearing.
Butterflies ; Cartilage ; Endoscopy ; Hearing ; Humans ; Inlays ; Microscopy ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplants ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation ; Tympanoplasty

In order to study the influence of tympanic membrane lesion and ossicular erosion caused by otitis media on the hearing compensation performance of round-window stimulation, a human ear finite element model including cochlear asymmetric structure was established by computed tomography (CT) technique and reverse engineering technique. The reliability of the model was verified by comparing with the published experimental data. Based on this model, the tympanic membrane lesion and ossicular erosion caused by otitis media were simulated by changing the corresponding tissue structure. Besides, these simulated diseases' effects on the round-window stimulation were studied by comparing the corresponding basilar-membrane's displacement at the frequency-dependent characteristic position. The results show that the thickening and the hardening of the tympanic membrane mainly deteriorated the hearing compensation performance of round-window stimulation in the low frequency; tympanic membrane perforation and the minor erosion of ossicle with ossicular chain connected slightly effected the hearing compensation performance of round-window stimulation. Whereas, different from the influence of the aforementioned lesions, the ossicular erosion involving the ossicular chain detachment increased its influence on performance of round-window stimulation at the low frequency. Therefore, the effect of otitis media on the hearing compensation performance of round-window stimulation should be considered comprehensively when designing its actuator, especially the low-frequency deterioration caused by the thickening and the hardening of the tympanic membrane; the actuator's low-frequency output should be enhanced accordingly to ensure its postoperative hearing compensation performance.
Acoustic Stimulation ; Ear Ossicles ; pathology ; Finite Element Analysis ; Hearing ; Humans ; Otitis Media ; physiopathology ; Reproducibility of Results ; Round Window, Ear ; physiology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation

The incidence of blast injury has increased recently. As the ear is the organ most sensitive to blast overpressure, the most frequent injuries seen after blast exposure are those affecting the ear. Blast overpressure affecting the ear results in sensorineural hearing loss, which is untreatable and often associated with a decline in the quality of life. Here, we review recent cases of blast-induced hearing dysfunction. The tympanic membrane is particularly sensitive to blast pressure waves, since such waves exert forces mainly at air-tissue interfaces within the body. However, treatment of tympanic membrane perforation caused by blast exposure is more difficult than that caused by other etiologies. Sensorineural hearing dysfunction after blast exposure is caused mainly by stereociliary bundle disruption on the outer hair cells. Also, a reduction in the numbers of synaptic ribbons in the inner hair cells and spiral ganglion cells is associated with hidden hearing loss, which is strongly associated with tinnitus or hyperacusis.
Blast Injuries/complications* ; Ear/injuries* ; Hearing Loss, Conductive/etiology* ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural/etiology* ; Humans ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation/complications*