Postoperative Pain Following a Retroauricular Approach Versus a Transcanal Approach in Tympanoplasty Type 1: A 14-Day Retrospective Study

TL;DR

This study found that a transcanal approach in ear surgery leads to less postoperative pain and faster recovery compared to a retroauricular approach.

Contribution

The study provides evidence that the transcanal approach in tympanoplasty reduces postoperative pain and analgesic use compared to the retroauricular approach.

Findings

The transcanal group reported significantly lower pain scores between postoperative days 5 and 8.

The transcanal approach had shorter operative times and fewer activity limitations during recovery.

Analgesic use was discontinued earlier in the transcanal group compared to the retroauricular group.

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether the surgical approach used significantly affected postoperative pain and quality of life. Methods: This retrospective study included 45 adult patients undergoing type I tympanoplasty for chronic tympanic membrane perforation. The patients were divided into two groups: transcanal (n = 24) and retroauricular (n = 21). Postoperative pain was assessed using the Wong–Baker FACES® Pain Rating Scale. Additional outcomes included analgesic use and activity limitation. Results: The graft success rates in the transcanal and retroauricular groups were 95.8% and 95.2%, respectively. The transcanal group reported significantly lower pain scores between postoperative days 5 and 8 (p < 0.05) and discontinued analgesic use earlier (mean 3.1 versus 4.3 days; p < 0.05). Furthermore, the transcanal group had fewer activity limitation events during recovery. Operative time was significantly shorter in the transcanal group (55.4 ± 10.1 versus 90.2 ± 10.6 min; p < 0.001). No major complications were observed in either group. Conclusions: A transcanal approach is associated with reduced postoperative pain, earlier recovery, and shorter analgesic use than a retroauricular approach in tympanoplasty type I.

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