Comparison of half-thickness tragal cartilage graft to temporalis fascia graft Tympanoplasty Type I: A randomized control trial.

Objective: To compare half-thickness tragal cartilage graft with temporalis fascia graft in terms of graft take-up and acoustic outcomes in type-I tympanoplasty.

Methods: The randomised control trial was conducted at Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan, from January to December 2017, and comprised patients aged 16-60 years undergoing tympanoplasty. The patients were divided into two equal groups using systemic random sampling method. In Group A, tympanoplasty type-I was done using half-thickness tragal cartilage graft, while in Group B, it was done using temporalis fascia graft. Data was analysed using SPSS20.

Results: Of the 40 patients, there were 20(50%) in each of the two groups. Overall, there were 24(50%) males and 16(40%) females. The mean age of Group A was 28.57±8.00 years, and in Group B it was 27.14±6.18 years. The graft success rate in Group A was 19(95%) and in Group B it was 18(90%) (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The graft success rates for half-thickness tragal cartilage and temporalis fascia were statistically non-significant.