Fat graft myringoplasty : a prospective clinical study

Abstract EN

prospective clinical study for reporting the efficacy of fat grafting for small tympanic membrane perforations due to : trauma, infection, post-tympanostomy tube extraction and post myringoplasty residual perforations.

Also, to emphasize upon the clinical criteria and technical operative points needed for the success of this procedure.

Sixty patients aged between 4 to 44 years ; with fat graft myringoplasty were operated for closure of tympanic membrane perforation due to the above causes.

Follow up visits for tympanic membrane evaluation, were in the 1st, 4, 6 and 12th post-operative months.

Failure cases were counted at the end of the 1st month post-operatively.

Hearing evaluation was done pre-operatively and in the 4th postoperative month.

Closure of the air bone gap was the parameter of hearing improvement.

The outcome measures were the post-operative state of tympanic membrane, hearing improvement in closure of the air-bone gap and incidence of failures and complications.

The Mean operative time was 20 minutes.

No side effects or operative complication occurred.

The successful procedures were (88.2 %) from the entire patient group.

Post-operatively, the mean improvement in the air / bone gap was about 15 dB for the successful cases.

The success rate for each group was : (89 %) for post-tympanostomy tube extraction persistent perforations, (90 %) for post traumatic persistent perforations and (86.6 %) for each of chronic tubotympanic inactive suppurative otitis media with perforation and post myringoplasty residual perforation.

Conclusion: Fat graft myringoplasty is an easy, simple, fast and minimally invasive procedure for the repair of small tympanic membrane perforations with favorable hearing results.

ª 2013 Egyptian Society of Ear, Nose, Throat and Allied.