Under the knife: revision tympanoplasty
Friday, December 17, 2010 at 12:01AM 
Illustration found here.
A tympanoplasty, as defined by Wikipedia:
Tympanoplasty is the surgical operation performed for the reconstruction of the eardrum (tympanic membrane) and/or the small bones of the middle ear (ossicles). The term 'myringoplasty' refers to repair of the tympanic membrane alone[1].
There are several options for treating a perforated eardrum. If the perforation is from recent trauma, many ear, nose and throat specialists will elect to watch and see if it heals on its own. After that, surgery may be considered. Tympanoplasty can be performed through the ear canal or through an incision behind the ear. The surgeon takes a graft from the tissues under the skin around the ear and uses it to reconstruct the eardrum. One of the most common graft sites is from the tragus. The surgery takes ½ to 1 hour if done through the ear canal and 2⅓ to 3 hours if an incision is needed. It is done under localor general anesthesia. It is done on an outpatient basis and is successful 85-90% of the time.
Both my eardrums fell apart in my youth, after countless ear infections. I had my right ear drum grafted big-time in high school, and my left one done in college. Both surgeries were successful.
I have never had any trouble with the left one, but about six months ago I got a perforation on the right. At first, it was thought to be a cyst, since it was high up on the membrane versus the usual hole at the bottom. CT said otherwise, so just a simple hole requiring a patch and no work on the bones behind.
What I have today is thus defined as a revision of a previous tympanoplasty. I am eager to have it done, because the hole creates a certain amount of dizziness and constant ringing in my right ear - two things I remember from the previous situation.
No complaint, as the original graft held for over three decades.
Reader Comments (2)
This must be a difficult struggle for someone who must make public discussions. I started having full time and strong tinnitus in the last months of 2009. I could not then teach, and I even have difficulty in my church administration volunteer functions, or sleeping. So I have even more respect for Tom following his mission with a need for effective public dialogue that cannot be fully planned and coordinated. God bless!
Hi! We had the same situation. My ear drum in the left ear is perforated. I just had temporal bone CT scan today because I might undergo mastoidectomy, not just tympanoplasty. Does the ringing in your ear was lost after the surgery?