Long-Term Follow-Up After Fat Graft Myringoplasty: Do Size and Location Matter?

Abstract

Objective: To assess clinical and functional outcomes of a fat graft myringoplasty under local in an office setting. Study Design: Prospective case series. Setting: Tertiary care facility. Patients: Patients with a tympanic membrane (TM) perforation presenting between December 2005 and June 2019. Inclusion criteria included perforation size >25% of the surface of the pars tensa of the TM, entire perforation margins visualized through a transcanal view, and lack of spontaneous closure at the 6-month follow-up. The exclusion criteria were the presence of cholesteatoma, wet appearance of the mucosa in the tympanic cavity, ear discharge in the 3 months before surgery, or signs of ossicular inconsistency. Intervention: In-office fat graft myringoplasty technique under local anesthesia. Main outcome Measures: Complete perforation closure rate and audiometric outcomes. Results: A total of 121 patients underwent the procedure, of whom 21 had bilateral sequential procedures (total 142 ears). Average age was 51.1 ± 18.4 years (range, 3-78 years). The size of perforation was <25% of TM in 39 (27.5%) ears, 25% to 50% of TM in 49 (34.55%) ears, 50% to 75% of TM in 34 (23.91%) ears, and 75% to 100% of TM in 20 (14.10%) ears. Complete perforation closure was evident in 130 (91.55%) of the 142 ears. Preoperative mean air conduction threshold was 59.3 dB (17-95 dB) and significantly improved into 35.6 dB (10-85 dB; P < .0004) after surgery. Preoperative air–bone gap was 30.2 dB (5-70 dB) and also significantly improved into 10.2 dB (5-65 dB; P < .0001) after surgery. Conclusion: In office fat graft myringoplasty, in adult and pediatric patients with variable perforation sizes, is a well-tolerated procedure with very satisfactory clinical results.