BILATERAL CONGENITAL CHOLESTEATOMA

We report a case of bilateral congenital cholestealoma in a 6-year-old boy. Cholesteatoma was present in both ears around the tympanic isthm us (the only open passage from the tympanic cavity to the attic), exte nding to behind the horizontal portion of the facial nerve. This patie nt underwent a total of three canal wall up operations on each side to remove the cholesteatoma completely and improve hearing. This case fu lfills the criteria proposed by Derlacki and Clemis in 1965. Bilateral congenital cholesteatoma is a rare condition, but the incidence of co ngenital cholesteatoma in children has increased recently for the foll owing reasons: Reassessment of the criteria, the introduction of compu ted tomography, and increased awareness of congenital cholesteatoma. W hen operating on patients with bilateral cholesteatoma, the best metho d for preservation of hearing should be chosen. We discuss these probl ems in the present report.