Introduction Ventilation disorders of the middle ear are common and sometimes pose a diagnostic
and therapeutic challenge. In addition to decongestant nasal drops and paracentesis
with tympanostomy tube insertion, another treatment option is tuboplasty.
Methods In this prospective clinical study, tuboplasty was performed on 62 adult patients
with ventilation disorders of the middle ear. The findings were recorded pre- and
three months postoperatively using a standardized test battery with clinical examination,
tympanometry, questionnaire ETDQ-7, etc.
Results In our collective, the intervention appeared to have a positive effect on tubal opening
in around two thirds of all patients during the follow-up period. In 17 of 29 patients,
an improvement in tubal function was seen in the tubal function tests. No complications
of treatment were observed in any patient.
Conclusions Balloon dilatation of the Eustachian tube is a less invasive method for treating
tubal ventilation disorder. In contrast to the tympanostomy tube, the eardrum remains
intact and the therapeutic results are encouraging, without any significant complications
being observed.
