Perichondrium - An Autologous Substitute for Temporalis Fascia in Type I Tympanoplasty: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Introduction 
 Temporalis fascia is the commonly used graft material for tympanic membrane reconstruction. Tragal perichondrium share with the fascia the quality of being mesenchymal tissue. In our study we compared perichondrium and temporalis fascia in terms of graft uptake and hearing improvement.
 Materials and Methods
 All patients presenting with discharge from ear and decreased hearing were subjected to clinical examination and investigation. Patients satisfying inclusion criteria were included in study with total of 40 patients. Twenty underwent type1 tympanoplasty with temporalis fascia (TF) and another 20 patients with tragal perichondrium (TP). To evaluate success patients are evaluated at end of 6 months for graft uptake and 3 months for hearing results in audiological gain of 10 dB in two consecutive frequencies.
 Results
 Mean Pre-op AC Threshold in TF group was 30.75 dB±5.16 and Post-op AC Threshold was 14.15 dB±8.05. Mean Pre-op AC Threshold in TP group was 32.2 dB±4.81 and Post-op AC Threshold was 20.95 dB±7.14. Mean post-op AC Threshold, Mean Post-Op AB Gap and Mean Audiological Gain was statistically significant among 2 groups p=0.0075, p=0.0013, p=0.0294 respectively. Temporalis fascia was better than Tragal Perichondrium. Graft uptake in 2 groups was not significant (p=0.6325).
 Conclusion
 From the present study we may conclude that temporalis fascia, tragal perichondrium free grafts provide viable autograft material for tympanoplasty. Both achieve good hearing restoration but the improvement in hearing or audiological gain is better in temporalis fascia graft than in tragal perichondrium graft.