Homograft ossiculoplasty: long-term results

Abstract

The use of homograft ossicles and homograft cortical bone has been common practice in chronic ear surgery for reconstruction of the interrupted ossicular chain. However, the possibilities of extrusion, reabsorption, and necrosis of these homografts have jeopardized the fate of such tissue for ossicular reconstruction. This study analyzes the fate of more than 400 homograft ossicles and bone columellas used for ossicular chain reconstruction over more than fifteen years, all of which were previously processed and sculptured in an ear bank. Many of these homografts have been observed for longer than five years. Histologic findings in longstanding homograft ossicles in the middle ear are presented.