[Thiel method fixed cadaver ears. A new procedure for graduate and continuing education in middle ear surgery].

Background And Objective: An efficient training program in ear surgery needs suitable models to learn the specific preparation techniques. However, conventionally fixed or fresh frozen ears of human corpses do not meet all demands. Therefore we investigated the feasibility of ears fixed according to Thiel for surgical training in the temporal bone lab.

Methods: Various surgical techniques on external and middle ears were evaluated on ears from cadavers fixed according to Thiel. Structure and consistency of the tissues were compared to vital conditions by means of a standardized questionnaire.

Results: Structure and consistency of the tissues of the auditory canal, the tympanic cavity and the mastoid were comparable to vital conditions. Merely the cartilage of the auricle was considerable softened. This enabled a surgical preparation under conditions close to the intravital situation.

Conclusions: Under the aspects of quality assurance and efficiency of continuous medical education in middle ear surgery, the Thiel fixation technique provides an excellent prerequisite.