Efficacy of Tympanoplasty Without Mastoidectomy for Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy of tympanoplasty without mastoidectomy in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) vs efficacy in those with dry tympanic membrane (TM) perforations. DESIGN: Retrospective controlled study based on a prospective database. SETTING: Academic tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: A total of 150 consecutive patients without cholesteatoma with CSOM or dry perforations alone who underwent tympanoplasty without mastoidectomy from January 2000 through December 2005. INTERVENTION: Tympanoplasty without mastoidectomy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Perforation recurrence. Independent variables were age, surgical approach, perforation size, and revision surgery. RESULTS: The TM graft failure rate was not significantly worse in the CSOM group compared with the dry perforation group (P = .48). The independent variables studied were not statistically related to the success of tympanoplasty except that revision surgery was associated with a slightly reduced success rate (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: The success rate of tympanoplasty without mastoidectomy is at least as good for patients with CSOM as it is for patients with perforation without prior otorrhea. Age (P = .28), perforation size (P = .11), and surgical approach (P = .82) were not significantly related to success rate. Revision surgery was associated with a slightly lower success rate.