title: Eardrum thickening approach for the treatment of patulous Eustachian tube.
abstract: This study aims to explore the eardrum thickening approach via cartilage myringoplasty for the cessation of symptoms of patulous Eustachian tube (PET), including autophony, aural fullness and breathing synchronous tinnitus. A total of 12 patients who met the diagnosis criteria of PET were included and given an eardrum patching test preoperatively. Then, myringoplasty with ipsilateral full-thickness tragus cartilage under general anesthesia was performed. All patients were followed up for at least 6 months postoperatively. Gross movements of the eardrum under deep respiration disappeared and symptoms were relieved in all patients during the patching test and at 1 month after surgery. All patients were followed up for a length that varied from 6 months to 5 years postoperatively, which demonstrated sustained satisfactory symptom cessation. PET symptoms may have been possibly caused by the gross outward movements of the acoustic transmission system. The eardrum thickening approach via myringoplasty with full-thickness tragus cartilage can be an accessible choice for PET with permanent satisfactory control of symptoms. Furthermore, the preoperative patching test could be a valid way to predict the outcome of the surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Institute of Hearing and Speech-Language Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Si
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yubin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510630, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Institute of Hearing and Speech-Language Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huaili
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Institute of Hearing and Speech-Language Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Institute of Hearing and Speech-Language Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhuohao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Institute of Hearing and Speech-Language Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510120, People's Republic of China. zhangzz0369@126.com.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002356:Cartilage / Q000637:transplantation; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D005064:Eustachian Tube; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009225:Myringoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Cartilage myringoplasty; Patulous Eustachian tube