Prevention of persistent ear drum perforation after long-term ventilation tube treatment for otitis media with effusion in children

The effect of tape patch technique using Steri-Strip(TM) tape in combination with freshening of the perforation edge after removal of long-term ventilation tubes for preventing permanent ear drum perforation was evaluated. The longer the tubes remained in place, the higher the incidence of persistent perforation after tube removal. The perforation rate after Goode T-tube treatment was 4.0% in the spontaneous extrusion group and 14.3% in the intentional removal group. In the ears treated by tape patch application, none of the perforations persisted after removal of the Goode T-tube. After removal or extrusion of Paparella Type II tube, perforations did not close in 13.2% of the group without tape patch application. When a tape patch was applied, only one perforation (3.3%) did not close. From these results, tape patch technique in combination with freshening of the perforation edge at the time of tube removal was useful to promote healing and prevent persistent ear drum perforation.