Computed tomographic evaluation of middle ear aeration following intact canal wall tympanoplasty

The condition of the mastoidectomy cavity following intact canal wall tympanoplasty (ICWT) is always of great interest to the otosurgeon. We evaluated the status of postoperative aeration in a stable ear following ICWT for various types of chronic otitis media using high-resolution computed tomography (CT). The mastoidectomy cavity in all the cases of simple suppurative otitis is totally aerated and that in over 60% of the cases of adhesive otitis, attic type cholesteatoma and adhesive type cholesteatoma is obliterated by a soft tissue density mass. The size of aerated spaces in the postoperative middle ear cavity not only depends on the type of chronic otitis media but also tends to correlate with the degree of mastoid pneumatization in the opposite ear. CT is useful for the postoperative assessment of middle ear aeration.