Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026
Endoscopic Cholesteatoma Surgery
Published on: January 19, 2022
Cartilage "shield" grafts in revision tympanoplasty
Aristides Sismanis1, Kelley Dodson, Efthymios Kyrodimos
1Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, Richmond, Virginia, USA. asismanis@mcvn-vcu.edu
Objective:
To report our experience with cartilage "shield" grafts in revision tympanoplasty.
Study Design:
Retrospective chart review at a tertiary referral center. Patients underwent revision tympanoplasties by replacing the entire tympanic membrane with concha cymba cartilage shaped as a shield.
Main Outcome Measures:
Successful graft take was defined as having no perforation, graft retraction, or lateralization. Hearing results were analyzed by comparing the preoperative and postoperative pure-tone average air-bone gap and speech discrimination scores.
Results:
Forty-three patients underwent 46 procedures. Graft take was successful in 43 procedures (93.5%). There was no graft lateralization or displacement into the middle ear. An overall postoperative air-bone gap of 25 dB or less was achieved in 22 of the 39 patients (56.4%), and speech discrimination scores remained unchanged.
Conclusion:
Cartilage shield tympanoplasty is a reliable procedure for revision tympanoplasty patients, with excellent graft take and significant improvement of hearing.
