Operative time
We found nineteen studies that reported operative time with a total number of interventions (n=1414). The average operative time was (77.7 ± 24.5) min for the ET group and (91.7 ± 18.8) min for the MT group. In the pooled analysis (Figure 2A), endoscopic tympanoplasty (ET) showed a highly significant decrease in mean operative time compared to microscopic tympanoplasty (MT) (SMD: -1.33; 95% CI -1.95 to -0.72; p < 0.0001). However, highly significant heterogeneity (I2 = 96%, p < 0.00001) and publication bias were found (Figure 2B).