RESUMEN
We reviewed 192 patients who had been treated for chronic otitis media. All operations were carried out at the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Tübingen. No patient had a previous ear operation and revision operations were excluded. The observation period varied from a minimum of 1 year to a maximum of 4 1/2 years. The ossicular chain was partially destroyed in 43 ears (22.4%). Ossiculoplasty was performed using autologous ossicles. An inens was used in 31 ears and a malleus in 12 cases. The overall failure rate was 20.8%. Most recurrent perforations were found in middle-aged patients. Children had only a 14% incidence of recurrent perforations. Fascia was the material associated with the highest failure rate (28.6%). After using perichondrium 6.8% of the cases had recurrent perforations, whereas the perichondrium-cartilage transplant was not successful in 4.8%. Overall, 62.7% of the patients were found to have an air-bone gap of 10 dB or less at 1.5 kHz 3-6 months after surgery. An air-bone gap of 20 dB or less was found in 91.2% of the patients. The main problem seen in the patients with chronic otitis media was not reconstruction of the ossicular chain but a lasting closure of the tympanic membrane. The perichondrium-cartilage transplant permitted the best results and is now recommended especially for patients with unfavorable middle ear conditions. A long-lasting closure of the tympanic membrane was also found in children (< or = 15 years of age). For this reason we also recommend an early operation in order to allow children to lead a normal life.
