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Enlarging the ear canal in intact canal wall tympanoplasty
Author(s) -
Shea John J.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-197205000-00016
Subject(s) - tympanoplasty , medicine , anatomy , ear canal , fascia , meatus , facial canal , eustachian tube , middle ear , chronic suppurative otitis media , surgery , radiology
In chronic otitis media, the external meatus and ear canal are often small and tortuous. Gill reported that a third of_250_ears with. congenital atresia had chronic otitis media, often unsuspected. Bellucci has emphasized the role of the Eustachian tube in determining the extent of chronic otitis media, so it follows that the small and tortuous ear canal are part of the congenital defects in this disease. Farrior and Caparosa have previously mentioned enlarging the ear canal in intact canal wall tympanoplasty. The usual post‐aural incision is made and the soft tissue of the canal dissected forward off the bone. A first vertical incision is made through the canal wall skin near the annulus, a second through the concha, and the two are connected by a longitudinal incision. The flaps are shifted apart to enlarge the canal, and an elipse of conchal cartilage is excised. The intact tympanoplasty is completed in the usual fashion, and the defect in the drum and canal is closed with a large tongue‐shaped piece of fascia which is brought out over the concha through the second incision. The canal is packed with strips of silk and cotton balls for two weeks. The result is a meatal opening and canal with a trumpet shape and adequate size.