Background I designed a percutaneous mastoid vent to provide permanent ventilation to the middle ear. The vent consists of an outer titanium tube that osseointegrates with the mastoid bone and an inner Teflon tube that protrudes into the mastoid antrum.
Objective To follow up all patients who had the mastoid vent inserted since 1995.
Study Design and Setting Retrospective study of 14 patients with mastoid vents inserted at the ear, nose, and throat clinic of a district general hospital.
Patients All patients had ventilation problems of the ear that failed to respond to conventional treatment. Three patients had persistent otitis media with effusion; 10 had completely collapsed eardrums; and 1 had failed tympanoplasty with recollapsed eardrum.
Intervention and Outcome Measure The mastoid vent extrusion rate, surrounding skin reaction, patency of the vent, and functional results were assessed with a follow-up period of 9 to 36 months.
Results Only 1 vent was extruded in a patient who had a previous cortical mastoidectomy. There was no dermatitis around any of the vents. All vents remained patent, and 9 of the 14 ears underwent successful ventilation. Four ears had adhesions within the mastoid antrum, mainly due to a previous cortical mastoidectomy. Six of 8 ears with intact ossicles also had improved hearing.
Conclusion The percutaneous mastoid vent can provide medium-term ventilation to the middle ear.
