Tympanoplasty Type-I using tragal perichondrium graft: Our experience

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of tragal perichondrium graft used in tympanoplasty Type-I at a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: This descriptive case-series study was performed at the department of E.N.T, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Teaching Institution/Lady Reading Hospital (MTI/LRH), Peshawar, Pakistan from June 2017 to May 2018. After approved from IREB, a well informed consent was taken. Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA) was performed before surgery and post-operatively at three and six months interval. The mean ± SD Air-Bone Gap (ABG) was calculated in pre- and postoperative PTA. The data were analyzed using SPSS (version 20). Chi-square (X2) test of significance was used taking confidence interval at 95%. The p-value ≤0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Total patients were 36; male 21 (58.3%), female 15(41.7%) with male: female ratio of 1.4:1. Mean ± SD age was 27.14 ± 7.49 years (Range 15 – 50Years). Tympanic membrane perforation was commonly found on right side 22 (61.1%), predominantly involving anterio-inferior site 19 (52.8%) and medium sized perforation outnumbered 22 (61.1%). Mean pre-operative air-conduction of 49.72 dB was significantly reduced to 18.27 dB with p-value of <0.05. Similarly the pre-operative mean air bone gap on PTA of 45.63 ± 8.35dB was also reduced to statistically significant level of 7.41 ± 3.51 dB on post-operative PTA with p-value of <.05. Graft was taken up well in 34 cases (94.4%). CONCLUSION: Tragal perichondrial graft is an effective grafting material used for tympanoplasty due to its possessing qualities.