Tympanoplasty With Aeration of the Mastoidectomy Cavity

Introduction  FOLLOWING the introduction of tympanoplasty by Wullstein¹ most authors of surgical procedures on the temporal bone have emphasized more the preservation of anatomical structures and hearing combined with the complete elimination of disease.One important contribution in this regard was the elimination of the mastoidectomy cavity. Rambo^2,3 and Guilford⁴ advocated obliteration of the cavity by the use of grafts of muscle and fascia. This work has been continued by Frerichs and Williams.⁵ Another method of eliminating the cavity is by preservation of the bony posterior canal wall. This technique has been advocated in selected cases for some time. Myers and Schlosser⁶ introduced interesting variations of this with the anteroposterior technique, which combined the postauricular approach to the mastoid and transmeatal approach to the middle ear, thus avoiding the creation of a mastoidectomy cavity.House and Sheehy⁷ also have stressed the importance of avoiding