Abstract Hearing outcome in tympanoplasty depends on many variables, one of them being the type of graft used. A number of materials like skin, vein, periosteum, perichondrium and fat have been used as grafts to seal the perforation, each having some advantages as well as disadvantages. Over past three decades temporalis fascia continues to be the graft of choice for tympanoplasty. However with the advent of endaural/endomeatal incision and cosmetic awareness, fascia lata an autologous free fascia graft from the thigh is gaining importance as graft in tympanoplasty. At Dr. D Y Patil Medical College Hospital, Kolhapur, we conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial on 100 subjects with inactive mucosal type of chronic suppurative otitis media and central perforation, with the aim to evaluate the comparative efficacy of temporalis fascia and fascia lata graft in type I tympanoplasty. In 50 patients temporalis fascia was used as a graft and in remaining 50 fascia lata was used. In this study surgical success was evaluated in terms of intact drum, average gain in hearing threshold and average hearing gain in audiometric frequency spectrum (low frequency-250, 500 and 1000Hzand high frequency-2, 4 and 6 kHz) at 3 months post-operatively. Temporalis fascia and fascia lata both achieved a graft uptake of 96%. Statistical analysis was done by using Z-test for proportion by using Graph pad quickcal software. The means of threshold gains, high frequency gains were significantly better at specific frequencies in the fascia lata group, and low frequency gains were better in temporalis fascia group and significantly much better in fascia lata group. However by Z-test for proportion this difference was statistically not significant. Except for residual perforation in two patients of each group and thigh wound infection in two patients of fascia lata group, no other complications were encountered. Thus we conclude that fascia lata may also be a preferred graft material in tympanoplasty.

Keywords: Fascia Lata graft, Temporalis fascia graft, Type I Tympanoplasty.