Tragal Cartilage as an Ossicular Substitute

Abstract

ONE OF THE most difficult problems in the surgical treatment of chronic otitis media is reconstruction of the ossicular chain. It is the purpose of this paper to describe a technique of ossicular reconstruction using autogenous tragal cartilage. In the past, the main consideration in the surgical treatment of otitis media was the control of disease. With the development of tympanoplasty techniques, equal attention was given to reconstruction of the soundconducting mechanism.^1,2The goal of tympanoplasty today is to control disease, retain normal anatomy whenever possible, and restore hearing.³Hearing restoration depends upon effective transmission of sound through the middle ear. When healthy ossicular remnants are present this may be accomplished by careful repositioning.^4-6Many different types of prostheses have been advocated as ossicular substitutes.^3,5,7-9 In the earlier years of tympanoplasty we frequently used a polyethylene or Teflon strut between the handle of the malleus and