A cholesteatoma is a skin growth that occurs in an abnormal location, usually in the middle ear behind the eardrum. It is most commonly due to repeated infection, which causes an ingrowth of the skin of the eardrum. It may also be congenital (present at birth). Cholesteatomas often take the form of a cyst or pouch that sheds layers of old skin that builds up inside the ear. Over time, the cholesteatoma can increase in size and destroy the surrounding delicate hearing bones of the middle ear (ossicles). Chronic infection and hearing loss are common side effects of the disease process. Meningitis, dizziness, and facial muscle paralysis are rare but can result from continued cholesteatoma growth. for Treatment and Removal of Cholesteatomas.
Cholesteatoma.... AllHealth
Concise and easy to understand article that has a lot of useful information for patients, students, and the general public. Try to ignore the pop-ups.
CT Appearances of External Ear Canal Cholesteatoma This is an advanced web site that looks at a rare type of cholesteatomas. It is a very interesting web site. It has images of the CT scans, but a computer with high resolution is recommended to view them.
