Effect of the thickness of the cartilage disk on the hearing results after perichondrium/cartilage island flap tympanoplasty.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of the thickness of the cartilage disk on the hearing results after perichondrium/cartilage island flap tympanoplasty. Our hypothesis was that thinning the rigid thick cartilage disk to half of its thickness could increase the compliance and give better acoustic gain and hearing results to patients with a reconstructed tympanic membrane. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective before/after clinical trial was conducted between January 2003 and March 2004. METHOD: Patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (mucosal type), central perforations and intact ossicular chain were randomly divided into 2 groups: the 1st group was treated with the perichondrium/cartilage island flap technique using the full-thickness cartilage disk, while the 2nd group was treated with the same technique but after bisecting the cartilage to half of its thickness. Hearing was evaluated using a 4-frequency (500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 Hz) pure-tone average air-bone gap before and then 8-9 months after tympanoplasty, and the results were compared statistically.