Tympanoplasty
Overview
Ossicles
The ossicles are the three smallest bones in the human body. They are contained within the middle ear space and serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth . The absence of the auditory ossicles would constitute a moderate-to-severe hearing loss...
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Tympanoplasty is classified into five different types, originally described by Wullstein in 1956 .
- Type 1 involves repair of the tympanic membrane alone, when the middle earMiddle earThe middle ear is the portion of the ear internal to the eardrum, and external to the oval window of the cochlea. The mammalian middle ear contains three ossicles, which couple vibration of the eardrum into waves in the fluid and membranes of the inner ear. The hollow space of the middle ear has...
is normal. A type 1 tympanoplasty is synonymous to myringoplasty. - Type 2 involves repair of the tympanic membrane and middle ear in spite of slight defects in the middle ear ossiclesOssiclesThe ossicles are the three smallest bones in the human body. They are contained within the middle ear space and serve to transmit sounds from the air to the fluid-filled labyrinth . The absence of the auditory ossicles would constitute a moderate-to-severe hearing loss...
. - Type 3 involves removal of ossicles and epitypmanum when there are large defects of the malleus and incus.
