RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: After bilateral mastoidectomy, taste change is common because of injury to chorda tympani nerve. We aimed to understand about the appropriate interval of sequential bilateral mastoidectomy. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Retrospective review was carried out for 25 patients who underwent sequential bilateral mastoidectomy from March 2004 to November 2011. RESULTS: Among the 25 patients, there were 19 patients whose chorda tympani nerve was injured after bilateral mastoidectomy, and eight of those 19 patients complained of taste disturbance. The rates of dysfunction according to operation interval were within 6 month (55%, 5/9), between 6 and 12 months (33%, 2/6), and above 12 months (10%, 1/10). Compared to canal wall up mastoidectomy, for canal wall down mastoidectomy, taste disturbance was more common (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: The result supports that at least 6 months interoperative period for bilateral chronic otitis media may be needed to avoid taste disturbance. A further large study may validate this result.