title: The evaluation of ear canal, middle ear, temporal bone, and cerebellopontine angle masses in infants, children, and adolescents.
abstract: Ear canal, middle ear, temporal bone, and CPA angle masses (except for cholesteatomas) are rare in the pediatric population. The physician needs to have a high degree of suspicion for such lesions if a child presents with ear pain unrelated to infection or otorrhea that fails to improve after treatment. A precise diagnosis needs to be made in these children and also in those with hearing loss, vertigo, and facial paralysis. The most useful imaging procedures for ear, temporal bone, and CPA masses are CT and MR imaging. With a suspected vascular lesion, a definitive diagnosis usually can be made by an imaging procedure or angiography. In all cases of mass lesions, except for some aneurysms and infections, a tissue diagnosis must be secured.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio.
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Bellet
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benton
authors.forename: B H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Matt
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Myer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002526:Cerebellar Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002648:Child; D004424:Ear Canal; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology*