Tympanoplasty: review of 400 staged cases.

Staging of tympanoplasty is important in the management of patients with chronic otitis media. It allows establishment of an air-containing middle ear space and adequate postoperative hearing levels in a large proportion of patients with severely diseased ears. The results of 400 staged procedures performed over a 3-year period at the House Ear Clinic, Los Angeles are reported. Staging was performed in 75% of tympanoplasty with mastoidectomy cases and in 15% of ears not requiring mastoid surgery. Closure of the air-bone gap to 20 dB or less occurred in 68% of patients with intact stapes. Mucous membrane problems were the most common reason for staging. Almost one third of cases with middle ear cholesteatoma at the first stage had residual disease on reexploration. Staging of tympanoplasty continues to be an important technique in management of severely diseased ears.