Objective To investigate the effectiveness of grommet insertion in the treatments of secretory otitis media. Methods 20 cases of secretory otitis media were chosen and hospitalized from the outpatients who had undertaken 2-3 months of conservative treatments, including medications, puncture of tympanum, or cavum tympani injection. All the cases received grommet insertion. Further, local drug perfusion to the cavum tympani was adminstered regularly. The grommets were kept for about 13 months. Results The post-operative follow-up times were 6-12 months. The total effective rate was 100% and healing rate was 75%（15/20）. The hearing levels of all the cases got improved while the average increase was 20-30 dBHL by pure tone test. Acoustic immitance test showed A type in 15 cases and As type in the other 5. All the tympanic membranes healed naturally without complications, i.e. perforation, shrinkage, or otitis media. Conclusions Grommet insertion is the primary method to treat refractory secretory otitis media, and the local drugs perfusion is crucial. At the same time, the complications, such as exfoliation of tube, infection, or disunion of tympanium, should be prevented.
