Eardrum repair
Alternative Names: Myringoplasty; Tympanoplasty; Ossiculoplasty; Ossicular reconstruction; Tympanosclerosis - surgery; Ossicular discontinuity - surgery; Ossicular fixation - surgery
Eardrum repair refers to one or more surgical procedures that are done to correct a tear or other damage to the eardrum (tympanic membrane).
Ossiculoplasty is the repair of the small bones in the middle ear.
Description of Procedure
Most patients (and all children) receive general anesthesia. This means they are asleep and pain-free.
The surgeon will make a cut behind the ear or inside the ear canal.
Depending on what needs to be done, the surgeon will:
- Clean out any infection or dead tissue on the eardrum or in the middle ear.
- Patch the eardrum with a piece of the patient's own tissue taken from a vein or muscle sheath (called tympanoplasty). This procedure will usually take 2 - 3 hours.
- Remove, replace, or repair one or more of the three little bones in the middle ear (called ossuculoplasty)
- Repair smaller holes in the eardrum by placing either gel or a special paper over the eardrum (called myringoplasty). This procedure will usually take 10 - 30 minutes.
The surgeon will use an operating microscope to view and repair the eardrum or the small bones.
Risks of Eardrum repair
Risks for any surgery are:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Problems breathing
- Reactions to medications
Other risks include:
- Damage to the facial nerve or nerve controlling the sense of taste
- Damage to the small bones in the middle ear, causing hearing loss
- Dizziness or vertigo
- Incomplete healing of the hole in the eardrum
- Worsening of hearing, or, in rare cases, complete loss of hearing
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Learn more about Eardrum repair
Reviewed By: Seth Schwartz, MD, MPH, Otolaryngologist, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Settle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
Copyright 2011 A.D.A.M., Inc.
