Myringoplasty and Tympanoplasty
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| Eardrum perforations are usually caused by trauma or infection.There are several options for treating a perforated eardrum (hole in the ear drum). |
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Symptoms
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TreatmentIf the perforation is new, doctors usually recommend to watch for several weeks and to see if it heals on its own. If natural healing does not occur, surgery is considered.There are generally two methods of repair. The first is a myringoplasty which is used to repair a small hole in the eardrum. In this operation, the hole's margin is rimmed, a process which removes skin and tissue, and a small piece of fat, paper or gelfilm is placed into the hole. This operation does not take a long time. In adults, this procedure can be done in the office with local anesthesia. The second option is a tympanoplasty. For larger holes or when simpler methods fail, the ear drum is lifted up so that the hole can be repaired from its inner surface. The surgeon takes a graft from the tissues under the skin around the ear or uses a collagen graft to reconstruct the eardrum. This operation is usually performed in the operating room and takes about one hour and the patient can go home a few hours later. A tympanoplasty can close perforations of all sizes and has a higher success rate than a myringoplasty. Both procedures are usually performed through the ear canal. Complications
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