Pilomatricoma of the external auditory canal

Abstract

Pilomatricoma was first described in 1880 by Malherbe as a calcifying epithelioma, but this was later changed to a benign tumour arising from the hair follicle matrix cells. It typically presents as a firm, painless well-circumscribed mass in children. They are most commonly found in the head and neck, particularly the peri-auricular area. They are slow growing and asymptomatic, generally appearing as a solitary mass but multiple lesions can be seen.While there is a paucity of case reports on pilomatricoma of the auricle, there are even fewer reported cases of external auditory canal pilomatricomas. We report the case of a 15-year-old male who initially presented with an enlarging external auditory canal lesion, which caused conductive hearing loss. An excision biopsy was performed under general anaesthetic. Histology returned as consistent with pilomatricoma.