Cholesteatoma

Cholesteatoma is a condition where a cyst producing dead skin exists either in the ear behind the eardrum or extends into the mastoid bone behind the ear. The danger of this condition lies not with the presence of the dead skin within the mastoid or ear, but with its properties to act as niches for recurrent infections and its bone eroding properties.

The consequences of cholesteatoma can include recurrent drainage of pus from the ear. Though the drainage can be treated with antibiotic ear drops, total eradication of this drainage is impossible just with antibiotics and requires removal of the cholesteatoma.

Cholesteatoma can also produce hearing loss by eroding the bones of hearing or producing recurrent infections that extend into the inner ear. Furthermore, if left unchecked, it can extend upwards towards your brain or erode the canals of the inner ear responsible for balance. As the nerve that allows the movement of 1 side of your face also runs through the middle ear and mastoid, a facial paralysis can also result.

Management of cholesteatoma requires that a tympanomastoidectomy operation be performed. This is an operation performed through an incision behind the ear that exposes the ear and mastoid bone behind the ear to remove the cholesteatoma. Often a second operation is required 6 months later to reconstruct the bones of hearing and ensure that cholesteatoma has not returned. The tympanomastoidectomy is performed in an outpatient setting.