A Study of Different Surgical Treatment in Otitis Media with Effusion

Introduction: "Otitis media with effusion " has been increasingly used in most of the recent literature and has become the current terminology, even though, the termeffusion does not differentiate purulent and non purulent. Materials and methods: It was a retrospective study of 100 patients presenting with hearing loss between the study period of one year (July 2001 to June 2002) in the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Assam, India. Different approaches like myringotomy and aspiration, myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion, adenoidectomy and myringotomy and all combined. Results: A gain in hearing of more than 55% was seen in all the approaches. Surgical treatment like myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion restore the hearing impairment immediately. The possible etiological factors like adenoid hyperplasia, infected tonsils are better cured by surgery. Conclusion: The role of surgical treatment has become more important in this era of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The early diagnosis and proper treatment is of utmost value in order to prevent the harmful sequelae of otitis media with effusion.