Importance of eustachian tube function in middle ear surgery.

Poor eustachian tube function plays a major role in the pathogenesis of chronic secretory otitis media. This is illustrated by epidemiologic studies of secretory otitis media and long-term studies of treated secretory otitis. Evaluation of hearing results demonstrate that effective preoperative and postoperative tubal function is highly important for good surgical outcome in cases of chronic otitis and cholesteatoma.