Studies on the migratory properties of epithelial cells of cholesteatoma: clinical investigation.

A total of 302 cholesteatoma cases were surgically treated with or without utilizing the cholesteatoma matrix to cover the defect of the eardrum. The recurrence rate, the number of days required for the skin to dry (epithelialization), findings of the external ear canal, the degree of postoperative crust formation (migration property), and the number of infections were compared between these two groups. Recurrence of cholesteatoma was seen in only one case, a case in which the cholesteatoma matrix was not used. The average number of days required for the skin to dry after surgery was 7.1 days in patients in whom the cholesteatoma epithelium was utilized, while it was 9.4 days in patients in whom cholesteatoma matrix was not utilized. The number of cases that had crust formation was significantly greater among patients in whom the cholesteatoma matrix was not utilized. From these results, we concluded that one-stage tympanoplasty with mastoid obliteration using the cholesteatoma matrix is a rational surgical procedure.