There is a current effort to perform myringoplasty for tympanic membrane perforations as a day-stay procedure. In 1998, an inlay myringoplasty using tragal cartilage/perichondrium was described. A retrospective study was performed by the author to analyse the results of inlay carilage myringoplasty, in terms of closure of simple perforations of the tympanic membrane. The results of a control group of previous cases of underlay temporalis fascia myringoplasty were retrieved from the hospital records. All the operations in both groups were performed by the same author at the same institution. The operation of inlay cartilage butterfly myringoplasty has been performed in 28 ears with simple central tympanic membrane perforations. Inconsistent results have been obtained, in that only 43 per cent showed closure of the perforation at the most recent follow-up. A control group of standard underlay temporalis fascia myringoplasty has been performed by the same author in 23 ears. Eighty-three per cent of the perforations were closed at the last follow-up. The difference is statistically highly significant (p < 0.01).