INTRODUCTION

Tympanoplasty is a common and well known surgical procedure in the otologic area. Numerous factors affecting the final surgical outcomes include the graft materials, causes of perforation, and age1. However, little attention has been paid to middle ear packing material(MEPM)s and their effects on the graft materials, ossicular changes, hearing, etc in the success of tympanoplasty. Absorbable gelatine sponge (AGS, gelfoam) was introduced by Correl and Wise as an absorbable haemostatic agent in 1945, andit has become the most commonly used MEMP in clinical practice. This material established its place as a scaffolding substance to support the grafting material and ossicular chains during tympanoplasty2.
Swing-door overlay tympanoplasty, which has been published recently with excellent surgical results, is a modified technique of classic overlay tympanoplasty3. In this surgical technique, clearly visible annulus plays a role as a splint and prevent falling of the graft material. It was conjectured that the tympanoplasty without gelfoam packing in the middle ear may facilitate the healing process of the neodrum as well as hearing recovery.
This prospective randomized case-control study was performed to compare the surgical outcomes of swing-door overlay tympanoplasty with or without gelfoam packing in the middle ear in patients with chronic otitis media(COM), according to the surgical procedure.