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Younger Patients Have a Higher Rate of Recovery of Taste Function After Middle Ear Surgery
Mieko Sone, MD;
Masafumi Sakagami, MD, PhD;
Kojiro Tsuji, MD;
Yasuo Mishiro, MD
Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127:967-969.
Background Although the chorda tympani nerve (CTN) is frequently damaged during
tympanoplasty, little attention has been given to the patients' symptoms and
taste function.
Objective To investigate patients' symptoms and the functional recovery of taste
after surgery using electrogustometry (EGM).
Design Prospective study.
Patients Analysis of 163 ears of 156 patients who underwent middle ear surgery
from April 1997 through December 1999. There were 18 ears with noninflammatory
diseases, 80 with chronic otitis media, and 65 with cholesteatoma. The patients'
taste functions were examined 2 days before surgery and 2 weeks and 6 months
after surgery.
Main Outcome Measures The taste disturbance before and after middle ear surgery and the relationship
between age and the recovery rate of CTN function.
Results Two weeks after surgery, the mean EGM threshold was elevated in all
groups regardless of preservation or section of the CTN. Numbness in the tongue
and taste disturbance were more frequently found in patients with preservation
of CTN than in those with section of the CTN (P =
.008 and P = .001, respectively). In patients with
preservation of the CTN, 6 months after surgery, the recovery rate of EGM
threshold was 83% in those aged 20 years or younger (P
= .008 compared with the 2 older groups), 53% in the those aged 21 to 40 years,
and 44% in those aged 41 to 60 years.
Conclusion Age is an important factor for recovery of taste function after middle
ear surgery, which is useful information when explaining complications to
patients.
From the Department of Otolaryngology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Hyogo,
Japan (Drs Sone, Sakagami, and Tsuji); and the Department of Otolaryngology,
Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan (Dr Mishiro).
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Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2001;127(8):1011-1012.
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