Cartilaginous bending spring for preventing tympanic membrane graft medialisation in anterior or subtotal tympanic membrane perforations-how I do it.

BACKGROUND

The reconstruction of anterior or subtotal tympanic membrane perforations is critical due to the risk of anterior graft medialisation and retraction or recurrent perforation.

METHOD: After reconstruction of the tympanic membrane by means of grafting, a rectangular cartilage strut (length 6 mm, breadth 2 mm, thickness 0.1 mm) is prepared using a cartilage knife and scalpel. This strut graft is placed between the cartilage graft and the promontory in the anterior inferior part of the middle ear cavity.

CONCLUSION

Our experience shows that using a U-shaped cartilage strut to sustain the tympanic reconstruction effectively prevents the medialisation of the graft and recurrent perforations.