Recently, a new artificial dermis was developed as a permanent material for the reconstruction of the skin or mucosal defects. It is composed of two different kinds of collagen; fibrillar and heat-denatured collagen, which are freeze-dried to form a sponge-like structure. These modifications reduce the inflammatory response and increase cellular affinity.
We have been using this artificial dermis in an out patient clinic and in this study, we investigated the effectiveness of this material for repairing tympanic membrane defects and external auditory canal skin defects.
The findings show that the rate of successful repair was 90.9% (20/22 ears) for tympanic membrane defects, and 100% (7/7 ears) for external auditory canal skin defects. We consider this artificial dermis to be very useful for middle ear operations in outpatients settings.