ACQUIRED MEDIAL CANAL FIBROSIS

Acquired medial canal fibrosis is a discrete clinicopathological entit y characterized by formation of fibrous tissue in the bony external au ditory meatus. Over a seven-year period, a total of 14 operative proce dures were performed on 12 ears involving 10 patients. Four cases had followed otitis externa, two were complications of suppurative otitis media, and three cases were iatrogenic. The cause could not be identif ied in three ears involving two patients. Treatment entails excision o f all the fibrous tissue and involved skin, a wide canaloplasty, a mea toplasty, and then reconstruction by split skin graft. Two cases of ca nal cholesteatoma were encountered. Average follow-up of two years sho wed hearing improvement in all patients. The only complication was a r ecurrence of the stenosis in two ears. The paper discusses terminology , aetiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and principles of treatment o f this condition.