Long-term results of plastipore prostheses in reconstruction of the middle ear ossicular chain.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the acoustic results over a long period of time, in patients who underwent ossiculoplasty with Plastipore, and to report the percentage of prosthesis extrusion and factors related to the prognosis.


METHODS
Forty-two patients, who underwent ossiculoplasty with Plastipore, were studied. Patients were followed up for the next 14 years. The surgical procedures were classified as: tympanoplasty, tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy with canal wall up, and tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy with canal wall down. A successful hearing result was defined as a postoperative air-bone gap (ABG) of 20 dB or less.


RESULTS
Successful results were seen in 65% of our patients, 68.8% with a partial ossicular replacement prosthesis (PORP) and a 62.5% success rate with a total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP). The mean value for ABG improvement was 25.5 dB. Prosthesis extrusion occurred in 4.7%.


CONCLUSIONS
The ossiculoplasty-Plastipore technique leads to good hearing results and a low percentage of prosthesis extrusion in long-term follow-ups.
Eleftheriadou
A
A
Department of Otolaryngology, Medical School, University of Athens, Ippokration Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Chalastras
T
T
Georgopoulos
S
S
Yiotakis
J
J
Manolopoulos
L
L
Iliadis
I
I
Charalabopoulos
K
K
Kandiloros
D
D
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001844:Bone Conduction; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000601:surgery; D004429:Ear Ossicles / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008416:Mastoid / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009998:Ossicular Prosthesis; D019933:Ossicular Replacement; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000601:surgery*; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011126:Polypropylenes; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014433:Tympanoplasty; D055815:Young Adult
C016674:Plastipore; D011095:Polyethylenes; D011126:Polypropylenes