LARGE ENDOLYMPHATIC SAC - A CONGENITAL DEFORMITY OF THE INNER-EAR SHOWN BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

Fluctuant and progressive hearing impairment in a patient with a wide vestibular aqueduct has been called the 'large vestibular aqueduct syn drome'. Recently reports of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies d escribe enlargement of the endolymphatic sac and duct in patients show n to have large vestibular aqueducts by computed tomography (CT). A pa tient with progressive deafness was shown to have borderline or slight ly enlarged vestibular aqueducts by re-formatted sagittal CT. However, MRI in axial and sagittal planes gave a more satisfactory demonstrati on of both aqueduct and endolymphatic sac enlargement.