How can an underlaid fascia graft form the middle layer of a reconstructed tympanic membrane?
Szabó LZ National Medical Center, Budapest, Hungary. zszabo@hiete.hu OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: Autogenous fascia is a material popularly applied as a connective tissue graft for reconstruction of the tympanic membrane. The objective was to establish how an underlaid fascia graft can form the middle layer of a reconstructed tympanic membrane. STUDY DESIGN: In the underlaid technique, the graft is laid on the medial surface of the tympanic remnant without removal of the mucous membrane, which is covered with entodermal epithelium. Interestingly earlier authors have regarded this fact as natural, though, if it is really so, it must be a result of an unexpected, special mechanism that apparently contradicts the general rules of transplantation. METHODS: Experimental operations were performed on one ear of 114 adult, male guinea pigs. The posterior quadrants of the tympanic membrane were removed, and the perforation was closed with an underlaid temporal fascia graft. Examinations were made afte
