Clinical Outcomes of Endoscopic Butterfly Inlay Cartilage Myringoplasty

Abstract

Objective To review a 3-year case series of endoscopic butterfly inlay cartilage myringoplasty performed by a single surgeon (W.S.K.) and analyze the clinical surgical outcomes. Study Design Retrospective study. Setting Tertiary care academic center. Patients We enrolled 60 ears with tympanic membrane (TM) perforation, receiving endoscopic inlay butterfly myringoplasty between 2019 and 2022. Main outcomes and Measures We reviewed patients' demographics, size and location of TM perforation, operation time, complications, and postoperative pain evaluated by the numerical rating scale (NRS). We analyzed the graft uptake success rate in 5 weeks and the perforation closure rate in 4 months after surgery. We also compared the air-bone gap (ABG) before and after the surgery. Results Among the 60 ears included, the mean age was 57.0 years, and 78.3% (47 of 60) had small perforations. The average operation time was 48.9 ± 11.5 minutes, and the postoperative NRS was 2.0 ± 1.6. The immediate graft uptake success rate evaluated at postoperative 5 weeks was 96.7% (58 of 60), with myringitis occurring in three ears. Except for 11 patients lost to follow-up, the perforation closure rate evaluated at postoperative 4 months was 100% (49 of 49). The mean ABG significantly improved from preoperative status (8.87 ± 5.51 dB HL) to postoperative 4 months (6.22 ± 6.03 dB HL) (p = 0.019). Conclusions A single surgeon's success rate for endoscopic butterfly inlay cartilage myringoplasty was almost 100%. This surgical procedure is safe and effective, with a high graft success rate.