title: Storage of the incus in the mastoid bowl for use as a columella in staged tympanoplasty.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether the incus of the cholesteatomatous ear preserved in the mastoid bowl during the first stage of planned two-stage tympanoplasty can tolerate long-term implantation and be used in ossicular reconstruction during the second stage.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group included 24 ears of 23 patients who underwent staged tympanoplasty for the treatment of middle ear cholesteatoma. At the first stage, after removing the incus to eradicate the middle ear disease, it was returned to the mastoid bowl and stored there until use at the second stage. The average interval between the two stages was 8.3 months (range 6-12 months).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incus was identified in all cases at the second stage: 10 incudes were found to be covered with a thin mucosa layer, 12 were buried in fibrous or granulation tissue, and 2 were joined to the surrounding bone. Residual cholesteatoma was found in six ears, either in the attic (three ears) or tympanic sinus (three ears). It never occurred in the mastoid bowl where the incus had been preserved. In 19 cases, the incus was available as a short columella for ossicular reconstruction. The remaining five cases were reconstructed using a hydroxyapatite ossicle as a long columella, since the stapes superstructure was missing at the second stage. In one case, the stored incus underwent remarkable absorption between stages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preservation of the incus in the mastoid bowl is an effective option in planned two-stage tympanoplasty, when the incus is considered useful for ossicular reconstruction at the second stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Ehime University, Shizukawa, Toon, Ehime 791-0295, Japan. kiyofumi@m.ehime-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kiyofumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gyo
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hato
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shinomori
authors.forename: Nobuhiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hakuba
mesh_terms: D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007188:Incus / Q000502:physiology*; D008416:Mastoid; D009926:Organ Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D019933:Ossicular Replacement; D012034:Refrigeration; D012092:Replantation; D013997:Time Factors; D014433:Tympanoplasty / Q000379:methods*