Key Points:
- Can the endoscope be a good alternative to the microscope in type I
tympanoplasty?
- Using the microscope in tympanoplasty has been the conventional
procedure for repairing perforated tympanic membranes since the 1950s.
However, ear surgeons have increasingly practised endoscope-assisted
tympanoplasty since the late 1990s.
- In this study, surgical outcomes of both techniques in terms of
postoperative audiological results and the graft uptake rate were
comparable.
- In contrast, the endoscopic technique was superior to the microscopic
one in terms of operative time, additional maneuvers rate and
complications rate.
- According to our study, the endoscope-Assisted type I tympanoplasty
proved to be as effective as the microscopic technique but safer and
less invasive.