Comparison of Grafting Success Rate and Hearing Outcomes between Primary and Revision Tympanoplasties

Introduction: There are a few studies that compare the outcomes between primary and revision tympanoplasties. The purpose of the present study was to compare the results of type I tympanoplasty (i.e., synonymous to myringoplasty) and revision myringoplasty based on the closure of tympanic membrane perforation and hearing improvement.

Materials and Methods: This prospective single-blind study was carried out on a total of 240 patients with tympanic membrane perforation at a tertiary referral center. The subjects underwent primary or revision myringoplasty. Grafting success rate and hearing results were measured and the comparison between the primary and revision groups was drawn.

Results: Grafting success rate was reported as 96.6% (112 out of 116 cases) for myringoplasty, while in revision myringoplasty the success rate of 78.2% (97 out of 124 patients) was achieved (P=0.001). Speech reception threshold was 23.1±9.2 dB and 24.9±13.1 dB in the primary and revision groups, respectively (P>0.05). However, the percentage of air-bone gap on audiometry≤20 dB were 83.8% and 76% in the primary and revision groups, respectively (P=0.26).

Conclusion: The findings of the present study have shown that although grafting success was reported significantly better in myringoplasty (tympanoplasty type 1), compared to that in revision myringoplasty, it did not reveal any superiority over revision tympanoplasty regarding the hearing outcomes. No consensus was achieved due to a great number of controversies in the literature.