Ossicular Reconstruction in Chronic Otitis Media: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Ossicular discontinuity is the most common cause of conductive hearing loss. Between 40 and 90% of tympanoplasties require middle ear ossicular chain reconstruction. The objective of this review is to segregate the literature on the outcome of various available graft materials in ossicular reconstruction, the preoperative predictors of ossicular necrosis and to find the risk of residual cholesteatoma in autologous incus ossiculoplasty. English language databases, including MEDLINE, Science Direct, PubMed, Web of Science and the Google Scholar search engine, were searched from 1950 to 2021, using the MeSH keywords: Chronic Otitis media, Middle ear, Ossicular reconstruction. The available evidence is not sufficient and there is a need for much more clinical research with larger sample sizes in order to standardize ossiculoplasty techniques, an ideal ossicular prosthesis and to rule out the presence of squamous epithelium in eroded ossicles which may predispose for future recurrences.