The success rate of tympanoplasty in chronic suppurative otitis media patients: A retrospective study

Background: Tympanoplasty is an orthodox surgical therapy for chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), an important public health problem characterized by persistent perforation of the tympanic membrane and ear discharge. It primarily aims to reconstruct the tympanic membrane, restoring protection to the middle ear and alleviate the difficulty in hearing. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine success rate of tympanoplasty in CSOM patients & its associated factors. Methods: A total of 90 Patients who had undergone tympanoplasty from Jan 1st, 2019 to Dec 31st, 2019 at SPHMMC, Ethiopia were included in this study. A retrospective medical chart review was carried out. Data was collected using a structured checklist and entered using Microsoft Excel 2010 and later transferred to SPSS for analysis. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of participants were computed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentage, mean and standard deviation). Paired t-test was used to compare preoperative and postoperative ABG results. Relationship between dependant and certain independent variables were analysed using chi-square. A p value of <0.05 and 95% confidence level were considered statistically significant. Results: 59 of the participants were females and 31 were males, with an overall age range of 9 to 52 years. The postoperative anatomical & functional success rates for tympanoplasty were 81.1% and 60%, respectively. The surgical approach employed was the only variable that exhibited significant association with the tympanoplasty outcome; the endaural approach had better graft uptake rate (p value=0.049). Conclusion: Tympanoplasty is an effective surgical procedure that can result in improved auditory function in patients and prevents complications satisfactorily. With tympanoplasty, the ear heals and the patient hears. Abbreviations: ABG: Air Bone Gap; CSOM: Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media; dB: Decibel; ENT: Ear, Nose and Throat; ORL-HNS: Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; PTA: Pure Tone Average; SPHMMC: St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College; SPSS: Statistical Package for Social Sciences