Factors affecting fat myringoplasty in elderly patients with chronic otitis media: A case control study.

BACKGROUND: We compared and analyzed the surgical results of fat myringoplasty between elderly and young adult patients with chronic otitis media. We also investigated whether underlying diseases and other factors impact the surgical outcome. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data of 141 patients who underwent fat myringoplasty for chronic otitis media for five years. They were compared by age, sex, underlying disease, perforation size, pre- and postoperative pure tone audiometry, postoperative otorrhea, postoperative re-perforation, and cause of re-perforation. RESULT: Postoperative re-perforation was more common in the elderly group, albeit with no significant difference (p = 0.072). The factors affecting re-perforation were insufficient fat graft (44.4%), postoperative infection (33.3%), and nasal blowing (22.2%). Our findings revealed no significant association between preoperative perforation size and re-perforation (p = 0.391). Additionally, we found no significant relationship between hypertension and re-perforation (p > 0.99), nor between age group and postoperative infection (p = 0.488). Diabetes was also not significant (p = 0.640). Following surgery, both groups exhibited a significant improvement in hearing. CONCLUSION: Although age and underlying conditions play significant roles in the healing process, our results suggest that external factors such as infection, nasal blowing, cough, and insufficient grafted fat tissue have a similarly significant impact on surgical outcomes in elderly patients with COM as they do in adults. In conclusion, the decision to perform surgery in elderly patients with COM should be based on a comprehensive assessment of the patient's overall health status, hearing, use of hearing aids, and the indications for surgery.

Fat Myringoplasty for Small Central Perforation of Tympanic Membrane: A Prospective Study.

In fat myringoplasty, fat harvested from ear lobule is used as graft material for the closure of small size central perforation of tympanic membrane under local anaesthesia. This study was performed over a period of 5 years (January 2016-December 2020) on 67 cases who underwent surgery and were willing to participate in the study at our tertiary hospital. Closure of perforation was found in 93% of cases within 2-3 months of surgery. Hearing gain was 6.8 dB on an average and morbidity was insignificant in successful cases. Fat myringoplasty is a successful yet simple procedure for repair of small size perforations. It is a day-care procedure under local anaesthesia requiring minimal tissue handling. It is also cost effective and has minimum post-operative morbidity. The likely cause of failure are ear infections and graft displacement due to respiratory tract infections. Results of the fat myringoplasty also depend upon the experience of the operating surgeon and cooperation of the patient.

Surgical results and factors affecting outcome in patients with fat-graft myringoplasty.

Objectives: We evaluated the closure rate after fat-graft myringoplasty (FGM) of perforations differing in size and location. We explored whether patient's factors and the FGM surgical technique influenced surgical outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively studied patients with tympanic membrane perforations who underwent FGM from March 2015 to March 2019. All procedures were performed by a single senior surgeon at our tertiary hospital. The patients who followed-up for at least 6 months after surgery were enrolled. We recorded hypertension and diabetes status, age, any prior ear surgery, any calcific plaques adjacent to the perforation, and perforation size and location. Results: A total of 150 patients were enrolled. Our success rate of FGM was 90%. Hypertension, diabetes, prior ear surgery history, and eardrum calcific plaques did not affect the surgical outcomes. There was no statistical difference in the surgical success rate according to the size (< 50%) or location of perforation. The closure rate was 97.2% in patients aged 1660 and 87.5% in patients aged > 60, respectively. However, FGM was successful in only two of six children (33.3%) aged ≤ 15 years, thus significantly less than in the other groups. Conclusion: FGM is a fast, safe, and efficient method for repairing tympanic membrane perforation. The surgical outcome is not significantly affected by underlying disease, perforation size or location, or by the condition of the tympanic membrane or older age. However, it may be poor in children with dysfunctional Eustachian tube.