Histopathological changes occur in posterior wall of external auditory canal, ossicular chain and mastoid antrum in chronic otitis media

Chronic otitis media is defined as clinically presence of a perforation on the tympanic membrane and chronic discharge originating from the middle ear. Permanent histopathologic changes being more prominent in middle ear mucoperiosteum and mastoid air cells, happen within the compartments of ear in variable extents. These histopathologic changes consist of inflammation, granulation, polyp formation, changes in bone tissue like osteitis, osteoneogenesis and bone erosion, subepithelial gland and goblet cell formation, squamous metaplasia, cholesterol granuloma formation, tympanoscerosis, and thickening in mucoperiosteum. These changes are responsible for sequela and complications existing in chronic otitis media In ENT Clinic of Gazi University Faculty of Medicine Hospital, 88 patients who had been diagnosed to have chronic otitis media were operated between 1999-2001 and from those patients samples had been obtained during surgical intervention.These samples were taken for the bony posterior wall of external auditory meatus, the mastoid antrum and the ossicles. The ratio of histopathologic changes in these structures was calculated and compared with those in similar studies. Especially the histopathologic changes of bony erosion caused by these lesions was overlooked again using the data provided by the literature.