Titanium prostheses versus stapes columella type 3 tympanoplasty: a comparative prospective study

INTRODUCTION: Tympanoplasty is a surgical procedure designed to reconstruct the mechanisms of sound transmission in the middle ear. OBJECTIVE: Analyze, from an audiological point of view, patients with chronic otitis media undergoing type 3 tympanoplasty major columella with total ossicular replacement titanium prosthesis or with cartilage graft stapes columella. METHODS: This is a prospective analytical study, carried out at the otorhinolaryngology outpatient clinic in a tertiary care hospital, through the evaluation of 26 patients with chronic otitis media who underwent tympanoplasty using different materials for auditory rehabilitation such as titanium prostheses or cartilage autografts. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant association between the group factors (cartilage or titanium reconstruction) and preoperative variables. There was no statistically significant association between the postoperative characteristics of the patients and the type of reconstruction. Neither subjective improvement (hearing improvement) nor residual perforation were associated with a type of material. The via factor was the only one that showed a statistically significant difference once air-conduction pathway improved more than bone-conduction pathway, decreasing the air-bone gap. CONCLUSION: There was no statistical difference between the two groups in relation to the audiometric improvement. There was hearing improvement in both groups. More studies must be done with a longer follow-up to better evaluate the outcome.