title: Predictive value of middle ear aeration before second-stage operation in staged tympanoplasty with soft-wall reconstruction.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  The extent of middle ear aeration before second-stage canal wall-down (CWD) tympanoplasty was correlated with postoperative middle ear stability.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate middle ear aeration before second-stage CWD tympanoplasty as a predictor of postoperative re-aeration potential and external auditory canal (EAC) stability in staged CWD tympanoplasty with soft-wall reconstruction (SWR).
  
  
  METHODS
  Middle ear aeration was evaluated before and at 1 year after the second-stage operation in patients who underwent staged CWD tympanoplasty with SWR for middle ear cholesteatoma. Based on the computed tomography (CT) findings, middle ear aeration was graded as A when the mastoid and tympanic cavities were aerated, B when only the tympanic cavity was aerated, and C in cases with no aeration in the tympanic cavity. We also examined postoperative EAC stability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-one ears were included. In all, 17 of 19 ears (89.5%) with grade A aeration preoperatively maintained grade A aeration postoperatively, while 5 of 18 ears (27.8%) with grade B aeration had grade A aeration, and no ear with grade C aeration had recovered grade A aeration. All ears with grade A aeration preoperatively maintained smooth EACs. EAC retraction requiring additional treatment occurred in five ears with grade B aeration and all ears with grade C aeration.
authors: Department of Otolaryngology, Kobe City Medical Center General Hospital , Kobe City.
authors: Yuji
authors: Y
authors: Kanazawa
authors: Yasushi
authors: Y
authors: Naito
authors: Risa
authors: R
authors: Tona
authors: Keizo
authors: K
authors: Fujiwara
authors: Shogo
authors: S
authors: Shinihara
authors: Masahiro
authors: M
authors: Kikuchi
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Yamazaki
authors: Ippei
authors: I
authors: Kishimoto
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Harada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000388:Air; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000601:surgery*; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000502:physiology; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D057234:Preoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014433:Tympanoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult