Sodium Hyaluronate as An Alternative Treatment for the Reduction of Tympanic Membrane Perforations

An Alternative Treatment for the Reduction of Tympanic Membrane Perforations: Sodium Hyaluronate

Article specifications

This double blind clinical study was published in 1990 in journal of Acta Otolaryngol by Spanish Otolaryngologists.  This study included 24 patients with the age of 10-60 years with Tympanic membrane perforation, the untreated perforations were to be smaller than one quadrant of the drum, and dry, divided in 2 groups one received injection of hyaluronic acid 1% and other received 2% sterile solution of Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose. The treatment was given at the operating theatre by direct application of 0.2 ml on the perforation at 48-hour intervals and for one month. If perforation healed before, treatment was discontinued. An Olympus OME-GA microscope equipped with a 170 OMEGWHlOX eye piece and an OME-GWHlOX-CD millimetric lens were used for precise application and measurement of the perforations. After treatment the degree of perforation healing was evaluated and expressed in percentage of reduction area.

Results

The results of the study showed that that hyaluronic sodium solution topically applied is an alternative to surgery especially when the perforation is small or medium sized, marginal or central and of acute origin.
The reduced area turned out to be significantly different in the group treated with sodium hyaluronate solution as compared to the placebo group. The study believes that sodium hyaluronate is an alternative to myringoplasty for selected tympanic membrane perforations.