A clinical comparison of outpatient and standard myringoplasty.

This prospective study compared the surgical outcomes of 35 patients who underwent myringoplasty--16 who were treated as outpatients and 19 who were admitted as inpatients. The outpatient technique involved a free skin graft, with the temporalis fascia placed as an underlay graft. The inpatients underwent the standard myringoplasty procedure. Postoperatively, 14 of the 16 outpatients (87.5%) and 17 of the 19 inpatients (89.5%) were completely healed within 2 weeks. The results of this study indicate that outpatient myringoplasty with a free skin graft is as safe and effective as standard myringoplasty for most patients.