RETRACTION OF THE PARS TENSA - LONG-TERM RESULTS OF SURGICAL-TREATMENT

Severe retraction of the pars tensa usually requires surgical treatmen t. Long-term follow-up of patients is essential as they may still suff er from eustachian tube dysfunction, resulting in a recurrence of the condition. Seventy-two tympanoplasties for retraction of the pars tens a (32 posterior retraction pockets and 40 completely collapsed tympani c membranes) were followed up for between 3 to 8 years. The long-term outcome of surgery for the posterior retraction pockets was favourable with at least 80% of the patients free of subsequent recurrence of th e retraction pocket. The hearing gain and the post-operative hearing r esults were good. The surgical outcome for the completely collapsed ty mpanic membranes was disappointing with re-collapse in 50% of patients . Consequently, the postoperative hearing results were poor.