Comparative study of outcome of type I tympanoplasty in dry and wet ear

Chronic suppurative otitis media is a common condition seen in patients attending the otolaryngology clinic. The discharging ear presents the otologist with the dilemma of operating on it or not. This due to the widespread belief that the success rate while doing tympanoplasty on wet ears is decidedly inferior. To evaluate this fact we conducted a study to compare outcomes of type 1 tympanoplasty in dry and wet ears. Wet ear meant that the patient had a mild mucoid discharge which was negative on culture. Type 1 tympanoplasty was done in all patients under local anesthesia using temporalis fascia graft and by underlay technique. We conclude that the presence of discharge in the ear at the time of operation does not interfere with the results of tympanoplasty, but it should be mucoid and scanty.