Perforations of the tympanic membrane following the use of Goode-Type 'long term' tympanostomy tubes.

A retrospective review of 64 Goode 'T' tube insertions is presented. These were inserted into 61 ears of 48 patients over a period of four years. At the time of review of these 61 ears, 34 tubes were found to be in situ, 27 had extruded spontaneously and three had been removed surgically. Ten ears in which the tube had been extruded or removed had central perforations of the tympanic membrane of which eight had been present for more than six months. The number of previous myringotomies or grommet insertions did not increase the likelihood of developing a perforation. Tympanostomy tubes of this type should not be used indiscriminately.