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TympanoplastyThis is a basic surgery performed by ear surgeons to repair a hole in the eardrum. There are several different types of tympanoplasty and the exact one is chosen based on patient age, cause of the hole, location and size of the hole and if previous surgery has been attempted.
Complications for SurgeryPain, infection and bleeding are complications of any surgical procedure. These are fortunately rare in ear surgery. Blood loss after tympanoplasty surgery is usually too small to measure. The ear is numbed with long lasting drugs that generally keep the patient comfortable for many hours. Most patients use Tylenol or Motrin/Advil for pain. Narcotics are occasionally used. Infection after ear surgery is very rare. Antibiotics are used for 1 week after medial and lateral tympanoplasty. The most common complication is failure of the hole to heal. The frequency of this depends on its size, location, health of the ear and procedure chosen. It can occur in up to 8% of difficult cases. Most patients can then go on to have revision surgery which is usually successful. A second complication is hearing loss. Most patients enjoy improvement of their hearing after successful tympanoplasty but scar tissue formation, Eustachian tube problems and problems with the bones in the middle ear can result in on-going hearing loss. The hearing can rarely be worse after surgery. Conductive, sensorineural or mixed hearing loss may occur. Tinnitus, or ringing in the ear can occur if the hearing worsens. Taste change can occur after ear surgery due to a nerve of taste that runs under the eardrum and brings taste to the side of the tongue. Loss of taste on the side of the tongue can occur in up to 10% of ear procedures and last for a few months. It can rarely be permanent and is more of a problem in patients who have had surgery in their other ear. Vertigo and dizziness is common after ear surgery but is usually short-lived and rarely persists. Many medications are given during surgery to prevent nausea and vomiting. Facial nerve paralysis is a very rare complication of ear surgery. The facial nerve travels through the ear and can rarely be injured during surgery. A facial nerve monitor is used during medial and lateral tympanoplasty which delivers an EMG of the facial nerve to prevent injury.
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