PURPOSE: To examine the acoustic results over a long period of time, in patients who underwent ossiculoplasty with Plastipore, and to report the percentage of prosthesis extrusion and factors related to the prognosis. PROCEDURES: Forty-two patients, who underwent ossiculoplasty with Plastipore, were studied. Patients were followed up for the next 14 years. The surgical procedures were classified as: tympanoplasty, tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy with canal wall up, and tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy with canal wall down. A successful hearing result was defined as a postoperative air-bone gap (ABG) of 20 dB or less. RESULTS: Successful results were seen in 65% of our patients, 68.8% with a partial ossicular replacement prosthesis (PORP) and a 62.5% success rate with a total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP). The mean value for ABG improvement was 25.5 dB. Prosthesis extrusion occurred in 4.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The ossiculoplasty-Plastipore technique leads to good hearing results and a low percentage of prosthesis extrusion in long-term follow-ups. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PURPOSE: To examine the acoustic results over a long period of time, in patients who underwent ossiculoplasty with Plastipore, and to report the percentage of prosthesis extrusion and factors related to the prognosis. PROCEDURES: Forty-two patients, who underwent ossiculoplasty with Plastipore, were studied. Patients were followed up for the next 14 years. The surgical procedures were classified as: tympanoplasty, tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy with canal wall up, and tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy with canal wall down. A successful hearing result was defined as a postoperative air-bone gap (ABG) of 20 dB or less. RESULTS: Successful results were seen in 65% of our patients, 68.8% with a partial ossicular replacement prosthesis (PORP) and a 62.5% success rate with a total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP). The mean value for ABG improvement was 25.5 dB. Prosthesis extrusion occurred in 4.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The ossiculoplasty-Plastipore technique leads to good hearing results and a low percentage of prosthesis extrusion in long-term follow-ups. Copyright 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.