title: Preauricular cyst associated with congenital cholesteatoma: an unusual cause of facial palsy.
abstract: An unusual case is reported in which a preauricular cyst associated with a congenital cholesteatoma caused facial nerve paralysis in a 40-year-old woman. The patient underwent three exploratory temporal bone operations to locate a source of facial nerve compression, but the cause of the palsy was not found until resection of a preauricular cyst revealed an epithelial tract that was traced through the external auditory canal and across the tegmen tympani to the site of the cholesteatoma.
authors.affiliation: Facial Paralysis Center, Shadyside Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Landers
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: May
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002781:Cholesteatoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000151:congenital* / Q000601:surgery; D003560:Cysts / Q000150:complications*; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D005158:Facial Paralysis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans