Comparison of CT and fiberoptic video-endoscopy findings in congenital dysplasia of the external and middle ear.

Twenty-six ears (of 25 patients) with congenital dysplasia of the external and middle ear were studied with two different types of imaging technologies in order to find out if it is possible to improve the anatomical overview of the dysplastic middle ears by combining the imaging methods. All the 26 ears were studied with computed tomography (CT), which gave cross-sectional images of the tympanic cavity. A fiberoptic video-endoscope (FVE) was introduced through the nose and via the Eustachian tube into the middle ear so that the topographic view of the anatomical structures of the middle ear could be visualized. Some structures were visualized better with FVE than with CT and vice versa. We concluded that the combined information obtained from these two imaging technologies provided a better understanding of the structural anatomy of a congenital dysplastic middle ear.

Tympanoscope-assisted myringoplasty.

Thirty ears of 29 patients with different sized perforation of the tympanic membrane were operated on with the aid of rigid otoendoscopes. The technique has a significant novel feature: endoscopy of the tympanic cavity through a perforation with small tympanoscopes 1.7 mm in diameter with a 0%. The postoperative air-bone gap was less than 10 dB in 90% of the ears. It was concluded that tympanoscope-assisted myringoplasty is a reliable and simple procedure with the benefit of minimal trauma in healthy tissue and that it is a feasible approach for day-case surgery with an ordinary success rate of tympanic membrane closure and hearing results.