Congenital cholesteatoma: Different clinical presentation in two cases

Abstract

Congenital cholesteatomas (CCs), though uncommon, have been well documented and described in the literature. Congenital middle ear cholesteatoma is defined as a keratinising epithelial rest that occurs behind an intact tympanic membrane without a prior history of infection or trauma. Although its cause is unknown, several theories have been proposed to explain its origin. The theories include the induction of keratinising epithelium from the middle ear mucosa due to inflammation, squamous metaplasia and the ‘migration’ of epithelial debris into the middle ear through the eustachian tube.1 We report two cases of CC with different presentations.

Keywords

• Cholesteatoma
• middle ear
• congenital