Myringoplasty is one means of closing a small hole (or perforation) in the ear drum.
In situations where the hole is quite small, a simpler technique can be used to close the perforation. Generally, this involves placing a small plug of fat, harvested from a small incision behind the ear, into the perforation, but occasionally this can be performed using another material such as Gelfilm or cigarette paper to cover the hole—encouraging closure.
This is frequently done in combination with removal of a tube that has not come out of the ear drum on its own. In this situation, the tube is removed and the ear drum is repaired via fat graft myringoplasty.
