Skip to main content
Log in

Eardrum thickening approach for the treatment of patulous Eustachian tube

  • Otology
  • Published:
European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Letter to the Editor to this article was published on 06 April 2017

Abstract

This study aims to explore the eardrum thickening approach via cartilage myringoplasty for the cessation of symptoms of patulous Eustachian tube (PET), including autophony, aural fullness and breathing synchronous tinnitus. A total of 12 patients who met the diagnosis criteria of PET were included and given an eardrum patching test preoperatively. Then, myringoplasty with ipsilateral full-thickness tragus cartilage under general anesthesia was performed. All patients were followed up for at least 6 months postoperatively. Gross movements of the eardrum under deep respiration disappeared and symptoms were relieved in all patients during the patching test and at 1 month after surgery. All patients were followed up for a length that varied from 6 months to 5 years postoperatively, which demonstrated sustained satisfactory symptom cessation. PET symptoms may have been possibly caused by the gross outward movements of the acoustic transmission system. The eardrum thickening approach via myringoplasty with full-thickness tragus cartilage can be an accessible choice for PET with permanent satisfactory control of symptoms. Furthermore, the preoperative patching test could be a valid way to predict the outcome of the surgery.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Grimmer JF, Poe DS (2005) Update on Eustachian tube dysfunction and the patulous Eustachian tube. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 13:277–282

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Poe DS (2007) Diagnosis and management of the patulous Eustachian tube. Otol Neurotol 28:668–677

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Luxford WM, Sheehy JL (1982) Myringotomy and ventilation tubes: a report of 1568 ears. Laryngoscope 92:1293–1297

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hussein AA, Adams AS, Turner JH (2015) Surgical management of patulous Eustachian tube: a systematic review. Laryngoscope 125(9):2193–2198

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Rotenberg BW, Busato GM, Agrawal SK (2013) Endoscopic ligation of the patulous Eustachian tube as treatment for autophony. Laryngoscope 123(1):239–243

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Brace MD, Horwich P, Kirkpatrick D et al (2014) Tympanic membrane manipulation to treat symptoms of patulous Eustachian tube. Otol Neurotol 35:1201–1206

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Diaz RC (2009) Patulous Eustachian tube and Eustachian-tube dysfunction. N Engl J Med 360(21):e27

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Tsuji K, Sone M, Kakibuchi M et al (2002) Bilateral cholesteatoma and habitual sniffing. Auris Nasus Larynx 29:111–114

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Kong SK, Lee IW, Goh EK et al (2011) Autologous cartilage injection for the patulous Eustachian tube. Am J Otolaryngol 32(4):346–348

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Boedts M (2014) paper patching of the tympanic membrane as a symptomatic treatment for patulous Eustachian tube syndrome. J Laryngol Otol 128(3):228–235

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Bartlett C, Pennings R, Ho A et al (2010) simple mass loading of the tympanic membrane to alleviate symptoms of patulous Eustachian tube. J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 39(3):259–268

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhigang Zhang.

Ethics declarations

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81371082).

Conflict of interest

There is not any conflict of financial interest in this research.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Health Ethics Committee of Sun Yat-Sen University and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Y. Si and Y. Chen contributed to this work equally.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (MPG 24980 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (MPG 18368 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Si, Y., Chen, Y., Li, P. et al. Eardrum thickening approach for the treatment of patulous Eustachian tube. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 273, 3673–3678 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-016-4022-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-016-4022-5

Keywords

Navigation