Myringoplasty

Myringoplasty is a surgical procedure that closes a perforation in the pars tensa, the main working portion of the eardrum. When the operation also removes scar tissue from the middle ear, it is called a tympanoplasty instead. Surgeons most often graft the perforation closed using tissue taken from the temporalis fascia, though some use tragal cartilage or tragal perichondrium instead, and the operation can restore hearing loss and reduce tinnitus in appropriate cases while lowering the risk of reinfection and ongoing discharge. It is not performed when the middle ear is actively discharging, when the patient has uncontrolled nasal allergy, when the other ear has no function, or in children younger than three, and it can be carried out under either general or local anesthesia.