Tympanoplasty with calcium phosphate.

In 35 patients, with an average follow-up period of 2 1/2 years, the middle ear was reconstructed with prostheses of hydroxyapatite, which is the main substance of living bone tissue. In case of a missing incus, an interposition prosthesis of dense hydroxyapatite was used. Defects in the bony posterior canal wall were reconstructed with a canal wall prosthesis of porous hydroxyapatite and cavities with a barefoot plate were reconstructed with a total alloplastic middle-ear implant, consisting of a canal wall of porous hydroxyapatite and a chain of wire and dense hydroxyapatite. With these prostheses, radical surgery of the middle ear can be combined with a physiological reconstruction.