Ear diseases
Ear discharge is the most common chronic condition affecting the ear. It is usually due to a longstanding middle ear problem that results in a hole (perforation) in the ear drum. This is called chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). This can be repaired by a procedure called tympanoplasty. Here a piece of covering of muscle (fascia) behind the ear or cartilage is used to plug the hole in the eardrum. If there is hearing loss due to any defect in the tiny bones in the middle ear that transmit sound, they can be repaired at the same time (ossiculoplasty).
Sometimes CSOM may be due to erosion of the mastoid bone (the bone just behing the ear). It is called CSOM due to cholesteatoma . For this condition, apart from repairing the hole in the eardrum, the mastoid bone also needs to be drilled out to remove the erosive disease process. This procedure is called a mastoidectomy.
Mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty are both safe procedures in expert hands. While the facial nerve that supplies the face is at risk in mastoidectomy, careful dissection and thorough knowledge of the anatomy make the risk negligible.