Sutured Patching Tympanoplasty: Our Technique and Results.

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Surgical Innovation
• Regenerative Medicine

Background:

• Tympanic membrane perforations often require surgical repair via tympanoplasty.
• Conventional tympanoplasty (CT) techniques can be time-consuming and technically demanding.
• A novel sutured patching (SP) technique is evaluated as an alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy and outcomes of sutured patching (SP) tympanoplasty with conventional tympanoplasty (CT).
• To assess graft integrity, audiological results, operative time, and postoperative pain.
• To evaluate subjective hearing improvement and recovery time.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving 44 patients with small, central, dry tympanic membrane perforations.
• SP technique involved tragal cartilage sutured to a silastic sheet via a transcanal approach.
• Postoperative monitoring included pain, hearing improvement, and audiological outcomes at 6 days, 4 weeks, and 6 months.

Main Results:

• Both SP and CT achieved 100% graft integrity at 6 months.
• SP demonstrated significantly shorter operative times (27.9 min vs. 87.1 min) and reduced postoperative pain (VAS 2.00 vs. 5.00).
• Patients undergoing SP reported quicker subjective hearing improvement (median 1 day vs. 24.5 days).

Conclusions:

• Sutured patching tympanoplasty provides comparable audiological outcomes to conventional tympanoplasty.
• SP offers significant advantages including reduced operative time, less postoperative pain, and faster perceived recovery.
• SP is a promising alternative for specific patient groups, especially in resource-limited settings.