title: Spontaneous middle-ear encephalocele: report of two cases and brief review.
abstract: We report two cases of middle-ear spontaneous (idiopathic) encephalocele in patients aged 69 and 82 years. To our knowledge the latter represents the oldest individual reported to have such a lesion. Microscopic examination shows a disorganized neuropil with reactive inflammatory changes and in one case, several cysts lined by simple cylindrical ciliated epithelium. Encephalocele must be included in the differential diagnoses of otorrhea and masses in the middle ear.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, St. Michael's Hospital and Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Alkhalidi
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: de Tilly
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fenton
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Munoz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002558:Cerebrospinal Fluid Otorrhea / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004432:Ear, Middle / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004677:Encephalocele / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000601:surgery