Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of three different myringoplasty techniques, namely hyaluronic acid fat graft myringoplasty (HAFGM), fat graft myringoplasty (FGM), and temporal fascia for the closure of different sizes and sites of tympanic membrane perforations.

MATERIALS and METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients who had undergone a type 1 tympanoplasty operation at our clinic between May 2007 and February 2013. The patients were divided into three groups depending on the patient’s choice of technique as follows: Fat Graft Myringoplasty (FGM) (Group I), Hyaluronic Acid Fat Graft Myringoplasty (HAFGM) (Group II), and Temporalis Fascia (TF) (Group III). A total of 136 patients were included in the study, split in to the FGM (57 patients; 56.1% female; median age: 30 years), HAFGM (31 patients; 54.8 female; median age: 25 years), and TF (48 patients; 58.3% females; median age: 33 years) surgery technique groups.

RESULTS: The patients were further divided into two groups, depending on the size of the perforation (small and large), and into three groups, depending on its location (anterior, inferior, and central). None of techniques provided a significantly better success rate in terms of perforation location (p>0.05). Also, none of the techniques provided a significantly better success rate in terms of perforation size (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION: We propose using HAFGM for large perforations and FGM alone for small perforations. The TF technique is a successful and well-defined technique for tympanic membrane perforations; however, in our opinion, its technical difficulties make it a secondary choice, particularly for small-sized perforations.