title: Symptomatic Lipoma of the Internal Auditory Canal: CT and MRI Findings. A Case Report.
abstract: We describe the case of a 39-year-old man in whom diagnostic work-up for combined right-sided hearing loss revealed a lipoma of the internal auditory canal (IAC). This very rare diagnosis has significant implications for therapeutic management because lipomas, unlike other lesions in the IAC, should not be surgically removed in most cases. We emphasize the importance of the combined use of magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography to reliably establish the diagnosis of a lipoma, differentiate it from other potential lesions of the internal auditory canal, and exclude additional pathologies in the petrosal bone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Zurich; Zurich, Switzerland - lukas.filli@usz.ch.
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Filli
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital Zurich; Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Zurich; Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Nader Al-Haj
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Husain
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D004424:Ear Canal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D046089:Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008067:Lipoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: computed tomography; hearing loss; internal auditory canal; lipoma; magnetic resonance imaging