My 8 year old niece had tubes placed in her ears when she was younger. As a result she now has a pinhole in one eardrum and a much larger hole in the other. Since neither has begun to close, surgery is now being recommended. Her mother has heard, but not through their doctor, that it is possible to use a synthetic material rather than human tissue to close the perforations. Do you have any information on this procedure? Thank you
Reply: ---------------------
There are some synthetic materials available for ear drum repairs. The most common situation in which they might be used is in the superficial patching of very small perforations in which the material is applied to the freshened surface of the ear drum to cover the small perforation allowing it to heal beneath the material. In this case the material is simply acting as a bridge for healing but is not incorporated into the healed ear drum and eventually extrudes out the ear canal or dissolves.
Autologous human tissue (that is tissue from the patient him/herself) is the preferred material used in surgical closure of large tympanic membrane perforations.
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Steve Dankle, MD
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Milwaukee, Wis
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