Long-term result of meatoplasty using inferiorly based retroauricular island pedicle flap for external auditory canal stenosis.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the long-term outcomes of meatoplasty using our new technique, inferiorly based retroauricular island pedicle flap for external auditory canal (EAC) stenosis. METHODS: A long-term clinical analysis of meatoplasty for nine patients (mean age, 33 years; age range, 8-64 years) with stenotic EAC was performed. The follow-up period after meatoplasty ranged from 5 years to 14 years, with a mean duration of 8.4 years. We compared preoperative and postoperative otoscopic findings, high-resolution computed tomographic (CT) images of the EAC, and hearing levels. RESULTS: Otoscopic examinations demonstrated widened EAC in eight of the nine patients. There was a significant increase in the size of the EAC on postoperative CT examinations when compared with the preoperative state. The hearing outcome in all patients was variable. The postoperative air-bone gap (ABG) was closed to 10dB or less in two cases, while the other seven cases showed ABG ranging from 15.0dB to 57.5dB. CONCLUSIONS: We performed meatoplasty using inferiorly based retroauricular island pedicle flap for nine patients with EAC stenosis and eight of the nine patients demonstrated satisfactory patent EAC during a mean follow-up of 8.4 years.