ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the thickness of cartilage disc on the hearing result after perichondrium/cartilage island flap tympanoplasty. Our hypothesis was that thinning the rigid thick cartilage disc to half of its thickness could increase the compliance and give better acoustic gain and hearing results to the reconstructed tympanic membrane. Prospective before/after clinical trial was conducted between January 2003 and March 2004. Patients with chronic suppurative otitis media [mucosal type], central perforations and intact ossicular chain we divided randomly into 2 groups, the 1st group was treated with the perichondrium/cartilage island flap technique using full thickness cartilage disc, while the 2nd group was treated by the same technique but after bisecting the cartilage to half of its thickness, Hearing was evaluated using four frequency [500-1000-2000-3000H z] pure tone average air-bone gap [PTA-ABG] before and then 8-9 months after the tympanoplasty, and results were compared statistically