Evaluating butterfly inlay tympanoplasty

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Pediatric Surgery
• Surgical Techniques

Background:

• Tympanoplasty is a common surgical procedure to repair tympanic membrane perforations.
• Underlay tympanoplasty (UT) is a widely used technique, but operative times can be lengthy.
• Exploring alternative techniques like butterfly tympanoplasty (BT) may offer advantages.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of butterfly tympanoplasty (BT) versus underlay tympanoplasty (UT) in pediatric patients.
• Key outcome measures include perforation closure rate, air-bone gap reduction, and operative time.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective cohort study was conducted on pediatric patients (<18 years) undergoing Type I tympanoplasty between 2009 and 2017.
• Patients with less than 6 months follow-up, mastoidectomy, fat graft, or cholesteatoma were excluded.
• Data on perforation size, air-bone gap, operative time, and closure rates were analyzed.

Main Results:

• The study included 21 patients for BT and 41 for UT, with similar mean ages.
• Operative time was significantly reduced in the BT group (94.0 min) compared to the UT group (150.9 min) (p=0.01).
• Both techniques demonstrated similar perforation closure rates (BT: 85.7%, UT: 75.6%) and comparable reductions in air-bone gap across tested frequencies.

Conclusions:

• Butterfly tympanoplasty (BT) is a reliable and effective surgical option for pediatric tympanic membrane perforations.
• BT achieves comparable closure rates and hearing improvement to UT while offering a significant reduction in operative time.
• This suggests BT is a valuable tool for pediatric otolaryngologists.