Surgical management of congenital aural atresia

Congenital aural atresia is a relatively common anomaly in otology. It requires an early assessment of hearing status and an early evaluation of the degree of atresia. Its surgical management is aimed at obtaining hearing gain and at establishing appropriate auditory canal status for the application of hearing aids. The authors analyzed the preoperative otologic findings, surgical findings, postoperative complications, and postoperative hearing results of 25 ears in 21 patients with congenital aural atresia. From January 1987 to February 1992, 24 of these ears were surgically corrected by anterior approach; the remaining 1 was corrected by transmastoid approach. Postoperative audiologic follow-up ranged from 8 months to 4 years (N = 21). A new modification of anterior approach is introduced. The final average air-bone gap was 30 dB, in contrast to preoperative 53 dB (N = 21). The final air-bone gap was improved to a level within 30 dB in 52% of the patients. Meatal stenosis was the most frequent postoperative complication and was seen in 12 patients in primary operation (N = 25). There was no postoperative facial nerve palsy and no sensorineural hearing loss. There was little difference in postoperative hearing among the various types of congenital aural atresia and the type of tympanoplasty that had been performed.