The use of the Bondy type of modified radical mastoidectomy in cases of chronic suppurative otitis media with genuine cholesteatoma is not new and is recommended as the procedure of choice by Bondy,1 Wittmaack,2 Lillie3 and others. The use of the primary skin graft in this operation is new and seems to offer distinct advantages in shortening the time of healing, thus helping to preserve intact the good hearing which these patients have.
At the risk of repetition, the indication for this type of modified radical mastoidectomy will be reviewed.
According to Wittmaack's2 classification there are three types of cholesteatoma. True cholesteatoma is an extremely rare tumor in the cranial bones, the result probably of an embryonic rest. Secondary cholesteatoma is the invasion of stratified squamous epithelium from the external auditory canal into the spaces of the middle ear through a comparatively large marginal perforation,