BackgroundThe study aims at reporting our experience with loop underlay tympanoplasty, a modification of the underlay technique previously reported, for the reconstruction of anterior, subtotal or total tympanic membrane perforations.MethodsA retrospective review of charts of patients who have undergone loop underlay tympanoplasty from January 2002 to January 2012 was performed. One thousand one hundred patients were included. Hearing test results preoperatively and postoperatively were reported. On follow up visits, the closure of the tympanic membrane perforation and the improvement of hearing compared to preoperative measurements with absence of complications were considered as successful outcomes of the surgery.ResultsAt the three-month follow-up visit, the perforation closure rate was found to be 99.3% and Air-Bone Gap closure rate to less than 10 dB was 99.5%. The complication rate, including post-operative infection, was 0.72%.ConclusionThe loop underlay technique combines advantages of both underlay and overlay techniques with excellent postoperative outcomes.

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Delayed pneumolabyrinth is a rare complication of stapes surgery and should be considered in patients presenting with vestibulocochlear symptoms even many years later. An exploratory tympanotomy is recommended for patients diagnosed with pneumolabyrinth and having a sensorineural hearing loss and/or persistent vertigo.

The objective of this study is to compare uptake and attenuation on positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging modality at the thyroarytenoid muscle between subjects aged less and older than 65 years old. The study design is retrospective chart review. The setting is academic medical center. PET/CT images of 60 patients aged less than 65 years old and 60 patients aged more than 65 years old were selected. Demographic data were collected. Both the groups were compared with respect to the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV max) and CT attenuation of bilateral thyroarytenoid muscles. The mean SUV max of the right thyroarytenoid muscle was 2.09 ± 0.8 in the group of patients aged less than 65 years old compared to 1.9 ± 0.6 in the group of patients aged more than 65 years old. For the left thyroarytenoid muscle, the mean SUV max in the first and second groups was, respectively, 2 ± 0.6 and 1.9 ± 0.6. The differences were not statistically significant. As for the CT attenuation, the mean value at the right thyroarytenoid muscle in the first and second groups was, respectively, 31.2 ± 0.8 HU and 20.8 ± 14.4 HU (p < 0.05). At the left thyroarytenoid muscle, the mean value was, respectively, 29.6 ± 9.9 and 22.8 ± 15 (p < 0.05). This study suggests that CT attenuation measurements can be used for objectively assessing the change in the density of aging thyroarytenoid muscle.

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