THINNED TRAGAL CARTILAGE ISLAND GRAFT TYMPANOPLASTY: ANATOMICAL AND FUNCTIONAL RESULTS

Material-Method: The study included 56 patients who underwent Type 1 tympanoplasty surgery using the postauricular sulcus approach and thinning of tragal cartilage graft with the over-underlay technique at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery at the Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat Hospital between 2018 and 2023. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the perforation size. We retrospectively analyzed the preoperative and postoperative 500-1000-2000 and 4000 Hz pure tone audiometry results and postoperative graft success rates in 6th months.

Results: In 51 of 56 patients in our study, the graft was intact at 6th month postoperatively. Our postoperative graft success rate was 91.07% in thinned tragal cartilage island graft tympanoplasty operations. Postoperative hearing test measurements performed at the 6th month showed statistically significant improvement in postoperative air-bone gap values compared to preoperative tests (p:0,00)

Conclusion: These results led us to conclude that thinned tragal cartilage island graft tympanoplasty technique has high graft success rates in addition to airway hearing gain in chronic otitis media cases. For an ideal graft, it is desirable that manipulation is easy and durability is high. In this technique, the ease of graft manipulation not only enhances surgical success but also provides convenience for the surgeon. Keywords : Tympanoplasty,Cartilage,Island Graft