title: External auditory canal wall cholesteatoma: a complication of ear surgery.
abstract: Primary external auditory canal wall cholesteatomas are usually present in the inferior portion of the canal lateral to the tympanic membrane. Small inclusion cysts are a common finding along incision lines after ear surgery. This report details 5 cases of large canal wall cholesteatomas after prior ear surgery. The middle ear or mastoid was not directly involved in any of the cases. The largest of these presented 8 years after the initial procedure and eroded in the middle and temporal fossae. A common feature among these patients was an extended period in which the patient was lost to follow-up after surgery. This experience reinforces the need for vigilant long term follow up even in the asymptomatic postoperative patient.
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Venkatraman
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Mattox
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002781:Cholesteatoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004423:Ear / Q000601:surgery*; D004424:Ear Canal; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed