[Evaluation of loss of the chorda tympani function after myringoplasty].

OBJECTIVES Loss of taste function was studied pre- and postoperatively in patients who underwent myringoplasty. PATIENTS AND METHODS Thirty-two patients who were diagnosed with chronic otitis media and underwent myringoplasty between May 2007 and May 2009 were included in the study. Regional taste test was performed preoperatively and two weeks after the operation in all patients planned to undergo myringoplasty. For patients describing disturbance in the postoperative taste test or in the questionnaire form, the taste test was repeated at six months after the operation and the questionnaire form was completed. RESULTS Chorda tympani was preserved in 18 patients (56.2%), traumatized in nine patients (28.1%), and cut completely in five patients (15.7%). Totally in 10 out of 32 patients (31.2%), an disturbance in the taste test was found at two weeks postoperatively. Sweetness/saltiness, bitterness, and sourness taste disturbances were found in 10, nine, and two patients, respectively. Improvements were identified in two out of 10 patients in the taste test performed at six months. The disturbances in the taste tests of eight patients continued to exist at that time. Sweetness/saltiness, bitterness, and sourness taste disturbances were found in eight, seven and two patients, respectively. CONCLUSION The chorda tympani nerve may be traumatized or completely cut as a complication of ear surgery. Sacrificing the nerve, where it is highly traumatized by surgical devices, reduces the duration of postoperative complaints.