Methodology:
Reporting Guideline : This study followed the Strobe guidelines
for reporting the study findings.
Study design : A retrospective study was undertaken concerning
patients who underwent either post-aural or per-meatal tympanoplasty
surgery. Patients were contacted via telephonic consultation to gather
insights into their experiences with the respective approaches.
Setting and Participant Cohort : This study was performed in a
secondary care hospital, catering to a population exceeding 900,000
individuals3. Study approval was obtained from the
hospital’s clinical audit department. The study encompassed 54
consecutive patients who provided consent and demonstrated the ability
to be able to participate. Exclusions were attributed due to the factors
such as non-consent, communication challenges, language barriers, and
health-related impediments. Encompassed within this group were
individuals who underwent tympanoplasty via either the post-aural or
per-meatal method. Procedures spanned simple myringoplasty,
ossiculoplasty (performed in cases where the ossicular chain was not in
continuity), and limited atticotomy (4 cases of atticotomy out of total
of 54 cases). Mastoid surgeries were excluded. Predominantly, the
permeatal subgroup underwent microscopic procedures, with a sole
instance of endoscopic tympanoplasty. General anaesthesia was
administered, with a solitary exception of local anaesthesia. Primary
and revision cases were included. The study spanned a 3 year window,
commencing from November 2019 to April 2022, encapsulating patients who
had undergone surgery within the prior 1 to 3 years. This temporal scope
facilitated a comprehensive long-term assessment of the postoperative
outcomes. Out of the 90 patients contacted for telephonic survey
participation, 54 responded and were included in the analysis.
Data collected : Utilising the validated patient reported outcome
measure, denoted as The Chronic Otitis Media Benefit Inventory
(COMBI)4,5 (Figure 1), data was collected from both
cohorts. Additional inquiries encompassed work absence and return to
work details. Post-aural patients underwent supplementary questioning
concerning the post aural scar, which has been used in research articles
before6,7 (See figure 3 below).
The data collected included demographic specifics (age, gender). In the
post-aural subset, scar related queries are shown in figure 3.
Per-meatal patients were queried on post-aural scar inclination (See
figure 3 below).
The validated COMBI patient reported scoring system (See Figure 1 below)
facilitated a comparison between the two cohorts.