title: Aural polyps: safe or unsafe disease?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether a case of inflammatory aural polyp constitutes a safe or unsafe disease and to arrive at the most suitable treatment option.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study. Follow-up period of 6 months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospitalized treatment in a tertiary medical college hospital that provides care for a predominantly rural population.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients treated for aural polyp, having a postoperative histopathological diagnosis of inflammatory aural polyp. Most patients (72%) belonged to the lower middle class.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-two patients treated during a 4-year-period were analyzed. Eleven cases were treated by simple aural polypectomy, of which 78% had either recurrence or persistent disease. Out of 31 patients who underwent mastoid exploration, 52% had extensive disease of the mastoid air-cell system and 35% had an underlying cholesteatoma. Six percent had persistent discharge. The disease was often associated with complications (19%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The presence of an aural polyp signifies well-established disease of the middle ear cleft with a greater potential for complications and often obscures an underlying cholesteatoma. We propose that all cases of aural polyps should be considered as unsafe disease and subjected to a formal mastoid exploration.
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT and Head & Neck Surgery, R L Jalappa Hospital and Research Center, Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Prasannaraj
authors.forename: Narajit S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: De
authors.forename: Indira
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Narasimhan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000473:pathology; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D004432:Ear, Middle; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008416:Mastoid / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011127:Polyps / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011446:Prospective Studies