OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a patient with a serious defect of the tympanic membrane (TM) will be able to dive after surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The authors describe three patients who were divers with serious defects of the TM (more than 75% of TM). In all three cases, cartilage palisade tympanoplasty was used to reconstruct the TM. RESULTS: Six months after surgery, the patients passed clinical examinations, audiograms (hearing restored to normal), tympanometry (increased stiffness of the TM), and pressure tolerance tests in hyperbaric chamber (30-m immersion was simulated for 4 minutes), and they began to dive again. Approximately 2 years after the surgery, all three patients are able to dive without any difficulties. CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that patients can dive after cartilage palisade tympanoplasty.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a patient with a serious defect of the tympanic membrane (TM) will be able to dive after surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The authors describe three patients who were divers with serious defects of the TM (more than 75% of TM). In all three cases, cartilage palisade tympanoplasty was used to reconstruct the TM. RESULTS: Six months after surgery, the patients passed clinical examinations, audiograms (hearing restored to normal), tympanometry (increased stiffness of the TM), and pressure tolerance tests in hyperbaric chamber (30-m immersion was simulated for 4 minutes), and they began to dive again. Approximately 2 years after the surgery, all three patients are able to dive without any difficulties. CONCLUSION: The authors conclude that patients can dive after cartilage palisade tympanoplasty.