Pediatric myringoplasty: A study of effectiveness and influencing factors.

Objectives: Until today, there is no consensus about the ideal age for a myringoplasty in children. In this retrospective study, we study our own series to characterize different prognostic factors to answer questions/dilemmas such as when to carry out surgery in a child with an ear drum perforation, when to postpone surgery or when to use a different technique to improve the outcome after tympanoplasty.

Methods: We performed a retrospective study on charts of 97 children who underwent a myringoplasty. The same surgeon (IF) treated all included children and with the same classical surgical technique: retro-auricular approach and microscopic underlay placement of fascia of the musculus temporalis. Children with associated disease (cholesteatoma, revision surgery and ossicular chain defects) were excluded. All children had a minimum follow up of 12 months. A successful procedure was defined as a closed eardrum after 12 months and an air bone gap <20 dB. Prognostic factors were inventoried and studied.

Results: Success rate after myringoplasty is 80.2% in this pediatric case series. Age was not a statistical significant prognostic factor. Only the history of an adenoidectomy had a positive effect on tympanic closure (p = 0.047). A negative prognostic factor was the size of the perforation: large perforations showed only 42.9% eardrum closure (p = 0.040). There was a complication rate of 28.9%, in which formation of granulation tissue and ear discharge were most common but easily treated.

Conclusion: Tympanoplasty type 1 with musculus temporalis fascia in underlay is a safe and successful technique in children of all ages with eardrum perforations. Our data suggests using a different technique (cartilage tympanoplasty) in cases with large perforation. Postponing surgery is not advocated, unless perhaps in children with poor Eustachian function or adenoidhyperplasia.