MODEL RELEASED. Eardrum surgery. Image 5 of 6. Surgeon holding a patch of skin cut from behind a patient's ear in a petri dish. The skin will be used to repair a perforated (torn) eardrum (tympanic membrane) in a procedure known as a myringoplasty. The eardrum is a very thin membrane and can easily be torn by trauma, infection, a loud noise, or the insertion of a foreign object into the ear canal. Perforation can reduce hearing, but surgical repair will not necessarily restore any lost hearing. For a sequence of images showing the operation see M572/037 to M572/042.