title: Metastasis from an unknown primary presenting as a tumor in the internal auditory meatus.
abstract: A 40-year-old male presented with a 2-month history of sudden hearing loss and tinnitus in his left ear. Mild vertigo was present initially but disappeared spontaneously without treatment. Facial nerve paralysis and retroauricular pain appeared 3 months after the onset of hearing loss on the same side. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a 1-cm mass in the left internal auditory canal. Translabyrinthine removal of tumor revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma. The patient died 3 months postoperatively from multiple metastatic deposits. A primary tumor was never found. The course of illness in this patient differs significantly from the typical course of other conditions involving the internal auditory canal. A metastatic work-up should be considered for patients with a similar history before a craniotomy is performed.
authors: Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California, Irvine.
authors: P J
authors: PJ
authors: Moloy
authors: R
authors: R
authors: del Junco
authors: R W
authors: RW
authors: Porter
authors: D E
authors: DE
authors: Brackmann
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary*; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D007759:Labyrinth Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed