Learning Objectives: The meatoplasty of the external auditory canal is a frequently performed otologic procedure. Indications include recurrent otitis externa refractory to medical treatment, eczema and/or frequent accumulation of cerumen due to a narrow meatus of the external ear canal. In canal wall down surgery for chronic otitis media it is an essential step to achieve a dry and easily cleanable cavity. Numerous surgical techniques have been described on how to do a meatoplasty. In our department, we used to perform the M-meatoplasty technique, described by Mirck in 1996. This procedure has proven to be easy to perform, adjustable to the individual patient, efficient and aesthetically acceptable. However, in several cases, we found that the M-meatoplasty did not sufficiently enlarge the e xternal ear canal. This is specifically the case in patients where ear canal narrowing was most prominent in the postero- and/or anterosuperior quadrants of the lateral meatus. In this video presentation we teach the “M-Oblique” modification of the M-meatoplasty to adequately address ear canal narrowing in these difficult cases.

The meatoplasty of the external auditory canal is a frequently performed otologic procedure. Indications include recurrent otitis externa refractory to medical treatment, eczema and/or frequent accumulation of cerumen due to a narrow meatus of the external ear canal. In canal wall down surgery for chronic otitis media it is an essential step to achieve a dry and easily cleanable cavity. Numerous surgical techniques have been described on how to do a meatoplasty. In our department, we used to perform the M-meatoplasty technique, described by Mirck in 1996 . This procedure has proven to be easy to perform, adjustable to the individual patient, efficient and aesthetically acceptable. However, in several cases, we found that the M-meatoplasty did not sufficiently enlarge the e xternal ear canal. This is specifically the case in patients where ear canal narrowing was most prominent in the postero- and/or anterosuperior quadrants of the lateral meatus. In this video presentation we teach the “M-Oblique” modification of the M-meatoplasty to adequately address ear canal narrowing in these difficult cases.