Congenital atresia of the external auditory canal.

Abstract

Children with congenital atresia of the external auditory canal require an early assessment of hearing and a determination of the degree of atresia and associated pathology by polytomography and/or high‐resolution CT scanning. We analyzed the otologic findings in 302 ears (239 patients) with severe atresia of the external auditory canal. Eighty‐seven primary or revision surgeries were performed. Fifty‐three percent obtained a residual conductive deficit of 20 dB or less. Lateralization of the tympanic membrane graft was the primary cause of failure in obtaining good hearing results. The use of split‐thickness skin graft instead of a full‐thickness skin graft to cover the reconstructed external canal has decreased the incidence of restenosis and revision surgery.

Congenital aural atresia: Bone-anchored hearing aid vs. external auditory canal reconstruction

“…The 5% occurrence of restenosis in the EACR group is lower than the reported range of 8-29% [19,20] because in our algorithm we perform EACR only for partial EAC atresia. Accordingly, the 10% (2/20) occurrence of fixture loss in the BAHA group appeared to fit within reported limits of 5-29% [21].…”

Bone-anchored hearing aids (Baha) in congenital aural atresia: Personal experience

“…of pts Mean PTA 30 dB HL Lambert [36] 16 12 (67%) Bellucci [37] 71 39 (55%) Mattox and Fisch [38] 11 5 (45%) De la Cruz et al [39] 56 41 (73%) Schuknecht [40] 50 15 (50%) Jahrsdoerfer [10] 126 61 (48%) Murphy et al [13] 19 4 (21%) (20 dB) Teufert and De la Cruz [41] 115 55 (48%) Digoy and Cueva [8] 54 27 (50%) El-Hoshy [42] 40 26 (65%) 30% of these cases. Likewise, in a study of 20 pediatric patients, Seeman et al [21] achieved a mean postoperative free-field threshold of 16 dB (range: 10-28 dB) with the Baha system, with a mean preoperative threshold of 49 dB in the better ear.…”

Congenital aural atresia: Transmastoid approach; an old technique with good results

“…Males are more often affected than females and in unilateral cases the right ear is more commonly involved [2]. Bony atresia occurs more frequently than membranous atresia.…”