Tympanoplasty with antrostomy or mastoidectomy (with reconstruction of the ossicular chain and synthetic prostheses)

A tympanoplasty is a surgery to correct a tear in the eardrum (the eardrum is the tissue that is in the middle part of your ear and divides your external auditory canal from the inner one). A mastoidectomy is surgery to remove the cells in the hollow, air-filled spaces in the skull behind the ear, which are called mastoid cells, while an antrostomy consists of the opening of the maxillary sinuses through an incision made under the upper lip, in the gum, reaching the sinuses through a small window, open in the bone itself. The reconstruction of the ossicular chain (bones of the middle ear) can improve conductive hearing. In this operation, the hammer (malleolus) or anvil (incus) is usually replaced. In some cases, the three bones of the middle ear are replaced.