ENT - Myringoplasty

What is a myringoplasty?

A myringoplasty is an operation to fix a perforation of an ear drum (hole in an ear drum).

A perforated ear drum can cause discharge and infection, though sometimes it does not cause any noticeable problems at all. A myringoplasty is an operation to patch up the perforation using a very small amount of tissue (graft) taken from behind the ear or from the tragus (your surgeon will specify their preferred technique when discussing the operation with you).

Risks

Infection

After the operation there is a risk that the ear/site of the operation could become infected. To help stop this from happening we ask that you block your ear off when bathing using cotton wool covered in Vaseline. If having a bath, please do not put your head under the water and please avoid swimming until you have been seen in your follow up appointment and advised that everything has healed well.

Hearing loss

There is a small chance that your hearing will be worse after the operation. Your surgeon will do everything possible to protect your hearing during the operation but if the middle ear or inner ear becomes damaged, your hearing may be affected.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a ringing, buzzing or other unusual sound which can occur in one or both ears. After an operation on the ears, there is a small chance that you will experience tinnitus but this may improve once the ear has fully recovered.

Dizziness

It is quite common to feel dizzy for a short time after this operation but it will eventually settle down on its own. If the inner ear is damaged during the surgery or because of an infection after the surgery, the dizziness may last longer.

Facial weakness

The nerve that moves the face runs very close to the area of the operation. It is possible for this nerve to be injured during the operation although very unlikely. If the nerve were injured you may not be able to move your face on the side of the operation. This could be temporary or permanent. The chance of a permanent facial weakness is about 1 in 1000.

Altered taste

The Chorda Tympani is a nerve that starts in your tongue and runs through your middle ear which is where the surgeon will be operating. If the nerve becomes damaged during the surgery, you might notice a change in taste or a numb feeling on your tongue. This is quite rare. If you did notice a difference in taste or feeling of your tongue after the operation it would usually get better over time but it can occasionally be permanent.

Failure

This operation works very well in about 8 out of 10 people but unfortunately, sometimes the graft falls off or the ear drum perforates again. If this happens, your surgeon will often offer to repeat the operation and this can be discussed in your follow up appointment.

After the operation

You can usually go home on the same day as the operation and someone will need to collect you from the hospital and stay with you overnight for the first night.

You will have packing in your ear that will make your ear feel blocked. This packing is often dissolvable, though sometimes it is a type that has to be removed. You will be advised about this after your operation.

There will be some dissolvable stitches where the graft was taken from. These will not need to be removed and will usually disappear after 2 weeks or so.

We advise you to avoid flying for at least 8 weeks after your operation.

Contact numbers

If you have any questions or problems, please contact:

Rachel Parks
ENT Specialist Nurse
rachel.parks@nca.nhs.uk

Ear, Nose, and Throat (E.N.T.) Dept -  0161 206 4758