From draining ear to tympanoplasty.

Inasmuch as the preferred candidate for tympanoplasty has a dry ear, the object of all preoperative care is to control infection and drainage before definitive surgery is undertaken. In our desire to perform this exacting surgery, we must realize that not all patients with chronic otitis media are candidates nor can they all be converted to candidates despite our best efforts. If we are as careful in our preoperative care and selection of tympanoplasty candidates as we are when performing the surgery, then this most valuable procedure will attain the status we feel it deserves. Specific reference is made to para‐otitic disease, tubal disease, and middle ear and mastoid disease.