CONFIGURATION OF EXPERIMENTALLY PRODUCED CHOLESTEATOMA BY TRANSPLANTATION OF A FREE SKIN-GRAFT

Residual cholesteatoma was experimentally produced in guinea pigs by t ransplanting a free skin graft into the middle ear bulla. In group A, the graft was placed on the mucosa after scratching the surface with a pick, while in group B, it was placed on the bone surface following r emoval of the mucosa and drilling with a diamond burr. The group A pro cedure was conducted on the left ear and the group B procedure on the right ear in 12 guinea pigs. The animals were sacrificed at two, four and eight weeks after transplantation. In all 12 ears of group A, the graft kept its original flat shape, resembling an open type residue. I n eight of 12 ears of group B, the graft grew forming a squamous pearl , while in the remaining four ears it retained a flat shape. The diffe rence in configuration is thought to be due to the amount of granulati on around the graft.