[Recurrences and hearing function following surgical removal of middle ear cholesteatomas with and without preservation of the posterior auditory canal wall (author's transl)].

Between 1969 and 1976, middle ear cholesteatomas were removed from 570 patients at the ENT Department of the University of Göttingen. 405 of these patients were examined for a determination of the rate of recurrent cholesteatomas and postoperative hearing function. 223 had radical ear operations or "open technique," while 182 had preservation of the posterior auditory canal wall (or "closed technique"). The rate of recurrent cholesteatomas in the "closed technique" patients was twice as high (30%) as in the "open technique" patients (15%). On the other hand, satisfactory improvement of hearing was almost twice as great in those patients in whom the posterior bony canal wall was preserved, even when radical surgery was combined with tympanoplasty.