title: Middle-ear lipoma as a cause of otomastoiditis.
abstract: We present a case report which describes a rare cause of a common clinical problem; eustachian tube dysfunction. A seven-year-old child presented with a history of chronic draining ears, despite rigorous medical therapy and multiple ventilation tubes. At myringotomy a mass was noted in the middle ear, and she was taken to the operating room for exploration. The patient was found to have a pedunculated lipoma arising from the anterior medial aspect of the middle-ear cleft producing intermittent obstruction of the eustachian tube orifice. This case represents the fourth case of a middle-ear lipoma in the world literature. We present a review of the literature and an exploration of possible aetiologies of this unusual entity in the differential diagnosis of eustachian tube dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Edmonds
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Woodroof
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Ator
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D004432:Ear, Middle; D005064:Eustachian Tube / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D008417:Mastoiditis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology