Taste Changes after Atresioplasty in Patients with Congenital Aural Atresia.

Objective: We evaluated chorda tympani nerve (CTN) and postoperative taste dysfunction according to anomaly severity and intraoperative CTN status.
Study Design: Prospective observational study.
Setting: Tertiary referral center, Samsung medical center hospital.
Patients: Thirty-one patients who underwent atresioplasty by a single surgeon in a tertiary referral center were enrolled.
Interventions: Therapeutic surgery.
Main Outcome Measures: Preoperative Schuknecht type and Jahrsdoerfer score and intraoperative CTN status were recorded, and a postoperative questionnaire was administered to evaluate taste function.
Results: A significant difference was found among intact, cut, and unidentified groups in terms of Schuknecht type ( p = 0.000) and Jahrsdoerfer score (9.28 ± 1.11, 8.80 ± 0.83, 8.10 ± 0.93, p = 0.028). CTN was observed in Schuknecht type B, and not in type C ( p = 0.000), and was more likely to be observed as Jahrsdoerfer score increased ( p = 0.012). Taste disturbance tended to last longer in adult patients than in children. A significant difference was observed in the incidence of taste change between cut and intact CTN groups ( p = 0.018).
Conclusion: CTN was not identified during surgery in patients with Schuknecht type C anomalies, and there was no change in taste after surgery. Meanwhile, CTN was observed in all patients with Schuknecht type B anomalies, and CTN injury occurred in 41.67%. Therefore, CTN presence can be predicted by severity of anomaly, and patients with type B anomalies should be informed of the risk of CTN injury before surgery.
Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The authors disclose no conflicts of interest.
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