Does indermil glue improve success rates in myringoplasty? Interim analysis of a prospective trial

The success rates of myringoplasty vary in the literature from 65 to 97.5 percent. Various reasons for failure are cited, one being failure of the graft to act as an adequate scaffold due to its falling away from the edge of the perforation. The potential role of adhesives in myringoplasty has been described but not objectively assessed. A group of 15 patients with a perforation of the tympanic membrane present for at least 6 months was prospectively recruited. All patients underwent myringoplasty using underlayed temporalis fascia. In each case the graft was spot welded to the edge of the perforation using Indermil (n-butyl cyanoacrylate) glue. At mean 7.7 months post operatively 14 grafts are intact (93%) and all patients have audiometric improvement (p < 0.01). These results are better then those from national audit statistics in the UK using conventional methods suggesting this technique is very promising. The technique and results are described.