Results of tympanoplasty and mastoidectomy at the massachusetts eye and ear infirmary

Abstract

Abstract The primary objectives of surgery for chronic suppurative disease of the ear are the elimination or arrest of disease and the preservation or improvement of auditory function. The concept is not new, for even the earliest otologists 1 performed temporal bone surgery with the hope of preserving the sound transmitting mechanism of the middle ear. Before the availability of antibiotic drugs for the control of bacterial infection, it was not always prudent to compromise the removal of diseased tissues for the sake of preserving function. It was observed, however, that good thresholds of hearing sometimes occurred even though the ossicles and tympanic membrane were partly or completely destroyed by disease or surgery. These cases were the result of fortuitous patterns of healing in which the function of the ossicular system or the phase difference at the oval and round windows was preserved. Tympanoplasty tries to achieve these goals without compromising the desired end result of a safe, dry, and asymptomatic ear.