Exposure of the entire attic through the enlarged external auditory canal, having removed the whole lateral wall of the attic cavity.

An atticotomy is mainly used in the surgery for chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma.

The partial bridge atticotomy has been completed and the temporal bone is ready for the atticotomy procedure. The critical structures are indicated in the figure.

AB: Anterior buttress

IB: Incus body

MH: Malleus head

ZR: Zygomatic root

The curved micro dissector is under the anterior buttress. The body of the instrument is in the tympanic cavity and the tip is in the attic. Because the ossicles can be accessed in their entirety, in the operation, the atticotomy-related procedures allow removal of cholesteatoma without damaging the integrity of the ossicles in suitable cases.