The goal of surgery for the chronic ear is to create a safe, disease-free ear and improve the hearing as much as possible. With respect to the chronic ear, audiologists…

Split-thickness skin grafting has been an important tool in the kit of otologic surgeons for over 100 years. These grafts can be placed primarily at the time of tympanoplasty or…

Although various treatments for tympanic membrane (TM) perforation have been used, almost all of them, especially in cases of larger TM perforations, are surgical treatments, such as myringoplasty or tympanoplasty….

The retrograde technique of cholesteatoma exposure attempts to combine the favorable attributes of canal wall-down and canal wall-up tympanomastoidectomy. The rationale behind this technique is to create a temporary canal…

The placement of tympanostomy tubes (TT) is a well-established procedure in most otolaryngology practices. The relative indications, although still debated, are generally accepted to include recurrent acute otitis media affecting…

Autograft ossicular reconstruction was first described in 1957 by Hall and Rytzner.1 The technique of using the patient’s own tissue to reconstruct the ossicular chain seemed to the authors to…

Otitis media with effusion (OME) describes the persistence of fluid or mucous (glue ear) behind an intact tympanic membrane, usually with no signs of inflammation. If this condition persists for…

The overlay, or lateral graft, tympanoplasty technique was established as a reliable method to reconstruct the tympanic membrane in 1961 when Storrs published the first series using temporalis fascia for…

This chapter provides an overview of several important general principles that are highly relevant to the safe and efficient surgical management of chronic ear disease. Although a diversity of opinion…

Patient Selection The selection of the appropriate skull base approach depends on the type of lesion and location of the disease, as well as the hearing status and medical status…