Tympanoplasty has been the mainstay of treatment in chronic
otitis media. In a non cholesteatomatous chronic
otitis media, there has been much debate whether a cortical
mastoidectomy is required or not. Creating an aerating
mastoidectomy in cases of blocked aditus ad antrum helps in reducing the recurrence. However, the status of aditus is not always known unless a
mastoidectomy is performed. In this study we try to find out if there is any clinical clue regarding a blocked aditus ad antrum by looking at the tympanic membrane. Fourty-three cases of cortical
mastoidectomies were retrospectively studied in this series. Patency of aditus ad antrum was analyzed with respect to presence of
myringosclerosis and the status of middle ear mucosa. In this study
myringosclerosis was found to be significantly associated with a blocked aditus while no such association was found with the status of middle ear mucosa. The presence of
myringosclerosis may indicate a blocked aditus ad antrum and performing a cortical
mastoidectomy in such cases may help in creating an aerated mastoid, thereby possibly reducing the recurrence rate.