Revision myringoplasty.

This retrospective study was undertaken to review the short- and long-term results of 70 revision and 16 re-revision myringoplasty operations. Of the former, 43 cases (61.4 per cent) had initial success, six weeks following surgery. The leading causes of immediate failure (27 cases) were associated with a complete no-take of the graft, infection with graft necrosis and poor anterior adaptation of the graft in decreasing order. Six out of the 43 patients developed late re-perforations during the follow-up period, thus reducing the success rate of revision myringoplasty to 52.8 per cent. Late re-perforations were attributed to insidious atrophy of the tympanic membrane or episodes of acute otitis media. Sixteen patients underwent re-revision myringoplasty and their success rate was 62.5 per cent. The overall success rate of revision and re-revision myringoplasty was 54.7 per cent. It has been concluded that results of revision myringoplasty were independent of patients' age, location and size of perforation and the seniority of the surgeon.

[Septic cavernous sinus thrombosis].

Septic cavernous sinus thrombosis is a rare complication of facial infections, particularly of the dangerous triangle (nose and upper lip) and less often of the orbit, middle ear, pharynx or teeth. Staphylococcus aureus is the most frequent causative agent. Prompt diagnosis and early aggressive antibiotic therapy, with or without anticoagulants, is required. A 49-year-old woman developed this complication following multiple nasal abscesses. Despite intensive antibiotic and anticoagulant therapy she became permanently blind. We present this case to stress the fact that this disease is still fraught with high morbidity, and even mortality.

Results of preservation of the posterior canal wall in cholesteatoma surgery as related to middle-ear aeration.

The last otological generation witnesses a fierce discussion concerning the treatment of choice of cholesteatomatous ears--closed versus open technique being the issue. The reports of the success and failure of these two opposed techniques varied greatly (McCabe, 1977; Sadé, 1982a). It is the purpose of this study to clarify this issue further by reviewing the fate of 100 cholesteatomatous ears treated by the closed technique and followed up for as long as 13 years--a length of follow-up which has not hitherto been reported. We will also try and attempt to correlate the success and failure of this method with the ability of these ears to aerate--a clinical status which may be regarded as indicating the 'Eustachian function' of any particular middle ear in question.

Results of mastoid operations in various chronic ear diseases.

A study of mastoid operations undertaken for various chronic middle ear entities, using closed and open techniques, revealed the following: 1. Marsupialized mastoid balls were found less disappointing than often considered; small cavities were dry in 90 percent and large ones in 70 percent of cases. 2. Residual disease (epidermoid cysts) appeared in 27 percent of the CAT-operated ears and in 13 percent when the open technique was employed. 3. Residual disease appeared twice as often when the primary disease involved the tympanic cavity and in young patients than when the attic and mastoid were exclusively involved or in older patients. 4. Residual disease did show up only in epidermoid ("attic") cholesteatomas, but not when the primary pathology was a retraction pocket (sinus tympani) cholesteatoma. 5. Up to 56 percent of the CAT-operated ears showed small, medium, or large retraction pockets. However, only large retraction pockets were of clinical significance. 6. The posterior wall, when preserved, atrophied to an important degree in about a tenth of the cases. 7. Significant atelectasis appeared in about a third of the ears once the membrana tensa was preserved, that is, in CAT or conservative radical operations. 8. About 10 percent of CAT operations performed in children may lead to an episode of acute mastoiditis.

Acute mastoiditis after a combined approach tympanoplasty operation.

Four of 112 ears on which a combined approach tympanoplasty (CAT) operation was performed had acute mastoiditis six to 24 months after operation. All four patients were younger than 13 years. This represents 12.5% of acute mastoiditis cases after CAT operations in this age group, or 3.5% of the total group. On reoperation, all four ears expressed pus under pressure in the mastoid cavity. There was also fibrosis and granulation tissue blocking the attic inlet. It is probable that the cause of the acute mastoiditis may be related to this partial or total stenosis. Two of the patients were found to have an aerated, noninflamed tympanic cavity, and only in two was the acute mastoiditis associated with residual cholesteatoma.

Atelectasis and secretory otitis media.

That condition where the tympanic membrane is displaced toward the promontory is termed atelectasis. Thirty-seven patients (61 ears) showing various degrees of atelectasis graded from stage 1 to stage 4 were studied. Atelectatic drums are an inflammatory phenomenon occurring in underventilated ears. This conclusion is reached by considering the reversibility of the atelectasis upon ventilation; while the inflammatory factor can be deduced from the history and histopathology of the atelectatic drum, as well as the histology of the necrosed incus, the latter occurs in over a third of our cases. Also pneumatization of the mastoid is almost never present. Twelve (21%) of the ears treated did indeed develop a perforation at one time or another (two had cholesteatomas). Chronic granulating external otitis with specific features occurred in 15% of cases. The characteristics of these ears and their case histories lead us to view atelectatic ears as part of the otitis media syndrome, where their place is somehow transitional between secretory otitis media on the one hand and chronic otitis media on the other.