Considerations regarding functional cholesteatoma surgery. II. Open techniques

: A review was made of 128 canal wall-down tympanoplasties for chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma. The cholesteatoma was found in the attic (82.4%), antrum (71.7%), mastoid (45.8%), and mesotympanum (35.8%). In 89.1% of cases there was ossicular chain injury. In 39%, the ossicular chain was partially reconstructed (modified canal wall-down tympanoplasty). After one year, 84.4% of the operated ears were safe, dry and self-cleaning. The others (15.6%) had postoperative otorrhea. Canal wall-down modified mastoidectomy achieved closure of the air-bone gap from 40 to 24 dB (p < 0.001).