A new supporting material for fascia grafting during myringoplasty: polyglycolic acid sheets.

We used polyglycolic acid (PGA) sheets, a reinforcing material, as supporting devices for securing the fascia instead of fibrin glue or Gelfoam in patients with tympanic membrane (TM) perforations. PGA sheets were placed lateral to the fascia graft attached using the underlay grafting technique in 6 patients. In each case, the PGA sheet had been macerated and had merged into the fascia within 1 week of the procedure. At 2 to 3 postoperative weeks, parts of the sheet had become dehydrated and detached from the fascia, revealing a new epithelialized TM underneath. Eventually, the sheet had disappeared, and complete epithelialization had been achieved at 4 to 5 postoperative weeks, resulting in the successful closure of the perforation. The repair of TM remained stable throughout the follow-up period of at least 6 months in all patients. These results suggest that PGA sheets have the potential to secure fascia grafts and to guide the epithelialization of new tissue.