OBJECTIVE: To present the rise and decline of allograft tympanoplasty and investigate how the challenges it has faced may inform us of its future. DATA SOURCES: Articles and books published over the last 48 years that refer to allograft tympanoplasty or its historical roots. HISTORY: The first published account of allograft tympanoplasty is by Ned Chalat in 1964; however, whether he was the first to use the technique is controversial. In 1966, Jean Marquet published the first clinically successful use of allograft tympanic membranes. Since that time, a number of surgeons have trialed both en bloc tympano-ossicular techniques and tympanomeatal techniques with separate ossicle interposition or columellar reconstruction, often with considerable success. The advent of the human immunodeficiency virus and Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease resulted in a reduction in its application; however, a number of centers are still successfully using the technique in their current practice. CONCLUSION: Whether allograft tympanoplasty will have a place in the future of otology remains to be seen, but an understanding of the history of this technique is essential in evaluating its merit.
OBJECTIVE: To present the rise and decline of allograft tympanoplasty and investigate how the challenges it has faced may inform us of its future. DATA SOURCES: Articles and books published over the last 48 years that refer to allograft tympanoplasty or its historical roots. HISTORY: The first published account of allograft tympanoplasty is by Ned Chalat in 1964; however, whether he was the first to use the technique is controversial. In 1966, Jean Marquet published the first clinically successful use of allograft tympanic membranes. Since that time, a number of surgeons have trialed both en bloc tympano-ossicular techniques and tympanomeatal techniques with separate ossicle interposition or columellar reconstruction, often with considerable success. The advent of the human immunodeficiency virus and Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease resulted in a reduction in its application; however, a number of centers are still successfully using the technique in their current practice. CONCLUSION: Whether allograft tympanoplasty will have a place in the future of otology remains to be seen, but an understanding of the history of this technique is essential in evaluating its merit.