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.