Cartilage shield tympanoplasty: A retrospective chart review of 69 cases

Abstract

Objective: Cartilage shield tympanoplasty (CST) is an acknowledged procedure to repair total tympanic membrane perforations. The main objective of this study was to share our experience of CST, in form of its technique, graft uptake and hearing outcomes. Study design: Retrospective chart review. Setting: Tertiary care hospital, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Patients: A total of 69 cases of type 1 CST, from January 2013 to March 2014. We followed all patients for a minimum period of 6 months. Intervention: Therapeutic. Main outcome measures: Graft uptake rate, along with pre- and postoperative pure tone audiogram air bone gap (ABG) and postoperative complications, was evaluated. We compared ABG using Student’s t-test. Results: Graft uptake was seen in 68 cases (98.5%). The mean pre- and postoperative pure tone audiometry (PTA)-ABG was 37.58 ± 6.43 dB and 20.19 ± 8.14 dB, respectively. Hearing improvement was maximum at 2 kHz with mean postoperative value of 17.73 dB, and the least improvement was seen at 8 kHz with value of 30 dB in postoperative period. Conclusion: The graft uptake rate was excellent, and hearing results were satisfactory. Cartilage shield tympanoplasty should be a recommended procedure for total perforation, subtotal perforation and revision cases. However, long-term results are still awaited.