Radical mastoido-epitympanectomy with tympanoplasty and partial obliteration: a new surgical procedure?

The modern concept of an open cavity is to combine a safe with a dry, self cleansing ear. The prerequisites to achieve this goal are: the radical exenteration of the mastoid, antrum and epitympanum, the maximal reduction of the volume of the cavity by extensive lateral removal of bone and the adequate shaping of the cavity walls by obliteration of the bone pockets. To perform correctly a radical mastoido-epitympanectomy with tympanoplasty and partial obliteration is difficult and requires a perfect anatomical knowledge of the deepest regions of the temporal bone, particularly of the supralabyrinthine space. Using the technique exposed in this article, 75 out of 79 ears (95% of our revision cases) achieved a dry and self cleansing cavity at three years follow-up.