Migration of T-tubes to the middle ear

by Thabet Abbarah, MD, FACS and M. Aiman Abbarah, MD | Tuesday, January 01, 2008

To the best of our knowledge, only 3 cases of T-tube migration to the middle ear have been previously reported.1 We report 2 additional cases.Patient 1, a 32-year-old woman, presented with complaints of muffled hearing and a sensation that her ear was plugged. She had a history of recurrent serous otitis media and had undergone several myringotomies with placement of Donaldson tubes and, most recently, a modified Richards T-tube. She had done well for approximately 4 years until these symptoms arose.Otoscopic examination revealed that the Richards T-tube had migrated into the middle ear (figure 1). A yellowish fluid was seen behind her tympanic membrane (TM). Audiometry revealed a mild to moderate conductive hearing loss. She was treated with a decongestant, nasal spray, and the Valsalva maneuver and scheduled for surgery.Patient 1. Otoscopic view shows migration of the modified Richards T-tube to the right middle ear, with fluid visible behind the TM. The flanges are situated toward .../continued/

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