Clinical Outcomes of Endoscopic Butterfly Inlay Cartilage Myringoplasty.

Abstract

Objective: To review a 3-year case series of endoscopic butterfly inlay cartilage myringoplasty performed by a single surgeon (W.S.K.) and analyze the clinical surgical outcomes.

Study design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary care academic center.

Patients: We enrolled 60 ears with tympanic membrane (TM) perforation, receiving endoscopic inlay butterfly myringoplasty between 2019 and 2022.

Main outcomes and measures: We reviewed patients' demographics, size and location of TM perforation, operation time, complications, and postoperative pain evaluated by the numerical rating scale (NRS). We analyzed the graft uptake success rate in 5 weeks and the perforation closure rate in 4 months after surgery. We also compared the air-bone gap (ABG) before and after the surgery.

Results: Among the 60 ears included, the mean age was 57.0 years, and 78.3% (47 of 60) had small perforations. The average operation time was 48.9 ± 11.5 minutes, and the postoperative NRS was 2.0 ± 1.6. The immediate graft uptake success rate evaluated at postoperative 5 weeks was 96.7% (58 of 60), with myringitis occurring in three ears. Except for 11 patients lost to follow-up, the perforation closure rate evaluated at postoperative 4 months was 100% (49 of 49). The mean ABG significantly improved from preoperative status (8.87 ± 5.51 dB HL) to postoperative 4 months (6.22 ± 6.03 dB HL) ( p = 0.019).

Conclusions: A single surgeon's success rate for endoscopic butterfly inlay cartilage myringoplasty was almost 100%. This surgical procedure is safe and effective, with a high graft success rate.