Pediatric cartilage interleave tympanoplasty

Objective: To describe a novel technique of cartilage tympanoplasty, and review surgical and hearing results in children. Study Design and Setting: Retrospective chart review of all patients who had undergone tympanoplasty at a pediatric tertiary care hospital from August 2002 to July 2005. Forty-two patients were identified with a minimum follow-up time of 12 months. Results: Mean preoperative perforation size was 21.3 percent (range 10%-90%), and mean patient age was 7.9 years (range 3-16 years). Median clinical follow-up was 24 months. Tympanic membrane closure and graft integration were achieved in 40 of 42 patients (95.2%), and 35 of 42 (85.7%) patients maintained an intact, stable tympanic membrane on long-term follow-up. A total of 93.8 percent of patients achieved a postoperative air-bone gap of less than or equal to 20 dB, and mean improvement in the air-bone gap was 10.7 dB. Conclusion and Significance: Cartilage interleave tympanoplasty is a versatile, stable, and effective technique for tympanic membrane repair in children.