Cartilage palisade tympanoplasty in sinus and tensa retraction cholesteatoma.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate whether reconstruction of the eardrum with palisade cartilage technique could prevent retraction of the new eardrum after surgery for sinus and tensa retraction cholesteatoma in children and to investigate the postoperative hearing.


METHODS
In 32 children aged 5 to 15 years, operated on from June 1995 to October 2000 for cholesteatoma (21 with sinus cholesteatoma and 11 with tensa retraction cholesteatoma) the eardrum was reconstructed with the palisade cartilage technique. Postoperatively, the children were seen as outpatients and were recently reevaluated with otomicroscopy, tympanometry, and audiometry. All patients (100%) were reevaluated on an average of 37 months (range 3-63 months).


METHODS
Postoperative retractions, perforations, cholesteatoma recurrence, and hearing.


RESULTS
At the final examination, posterosuperior retraction was observed in two patients, both operated on for sinus cholesteatoma with reconstruction of the ossicular chain. In those cases, the palisades were not placed in the posterosuperior drilling defect behind the interpositioned incus. All the patients had an intact tympanic membrane at the final follow-up visit. One small perforation was surgically closed during the observation period. No patients developed cholesteatoma during the follow-up period. The postoperative hearing was good, and the hearing did not deteriorate with increasing observation time.


CONCLUSIONS
The palisade technique effectively prevented postoperative retraction of the eardrum. The postoperative hearing was good.
Andersen
J
J
Department of Otolaryngology, Gentofte University Hospital, Hellerup, Denmark.
Cayé-Thomasen
P
P
Tos
M
M
D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000293:Adolescent; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D002356:Cartilage / Q000637:transplantation*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009998:Ossicular Prosthesis; D019720:Otoscopes; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test; D014433:Tympanoplasty / Q000379:methods*