title: Congenital cholesteatoma in identical twins.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We present an extremely rare case of congenital cholesteatoma in identical twins.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case report of congenital cholesteatoma in identical twins, and a literature review, are presented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both cases presented to the ENT out-patient clinic, but with different clinical pictures. Both were managed surgically.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Congenital cholesteatoma presents as a whitish mass in the middle ear, with an intact tympanic membrane. It is a rare entity comprising between 3.7 and 24 per cent of total cholesteatoma cases. The key to its diagnosis is the absence of previous ear infection, ear surgery and local trauma. To our best knowledge, this paper represents the first report in the world literature of congenital cholesteatoma in identical twins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Disorders, Al Nahdha Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. tweety_om@hotmail.com
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Al Balushi
authors.forename: J Z
authors.initials: JZ
authors.lastname: Naik
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Al Khabori
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002781:Cholesteatoma / Q000151:congenital* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008416:Mastoid / Q000601:surgery*; D013506:Otologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D038781:Otoscopy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000473:pathology*