gms | German Medical Science

Introduction: Cholesteatoma is a histologically benign lesion, but biologically invasive, characterized by the presence of keratinizing squamous epithelium within the middle ear. Surgery is the main option in cholesteatoma treatment. The distructiv and recurrent character of the lesions raise numerous problems regarding the choice of the most adequate surgical technique in cholesteatoma patients.

Materials and methods: The authors present a retrospective study of 116 cases of cholesteatoma operated in the ENT department of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timişoara. The patients are classified according to the intraoperative extension of the lesions, and to the surgical techniques employed.

Results: The postoperative results, morphological and functional, are presented, according to the type of the surgical procedure. The authors discuss the different surgical techniques used today in choloesteatoma surgery, emphasizing the specific features of the colesteatoma treatment in Romania.

Conclusion: In the majority of cases the canal wall down mastoidectomy with tympanoplasty was used. We used the intact canal wall technique only in small delimited epitympanic cholesteatoma or in retraction pockets. The classic radical mastoidectomy is still in use, but only in special indications.