July 2001: 58-year-old man with a temporal bone mass - Diagnosis - Giant cholesterol granuloma of the petrous portion of the temporal bone with a small component of coexistent cholesteatoma

The July 2001 Case of the Month (COM). A 58-year-old man with right ear hea ring loss since childhood presented with a two year history of dizziness an d vertigo. Neuroradiological studies showed a large mass arising from the p etrous portion of the temporal bone. The lesion was resected and microscopi c examination revealed a cholesterol granuloma with a small component of ch olesteatoma. It is important to distinguish between cholesterol granuloma a nd cholesteatoma because of treatment differences. However, these two entit ies can occasionally be seen together and rare giant variants have been des cribed.