The fate of an ossicular allograft in tympanoplasty

Correction of ossicular defects in tympanoplasty most commonly involves the use of commercially available prostheses or preserved allograft ossicles. Incus autografts and tragal cartilage autografts are also used by many surgeons. Presculptured preserved allograft ossicles have not been used widely, but are used almost exclusively by our clinic. The fate of ossicular grafts has been reported by a number of in investigators with evidence obtained at revision surgery. In this paper we will be able to trace the fate of a presculptured preserved autograft ossicle clinically and pathologically. The unique aspect of this study is the demonstration of the ossicular status in post mortem temporal bone dissection followed by histopathological serial section studies.