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86th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

13.05. - 16.05.2015, Berlin

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Small fractures of the temporal bone

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  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Sebastian Roesch - Universitätsklinik für Hals-, Nasen-, Ohrenkrankheiten der Paracelsus Medizinischen Privatuniversität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
  • author Miklós Tóth - Universitätsklinik für Hals-, Nasen-, Ohrenkrankheiten der Paracelsus Medizinischen Privatuniversität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
  • author Gerd Rasp - Universitätsklinik für Hals-, Nasen-, Ohrenkrankheiten der Paracelsus Medizinischen Privatuniversität Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. 86th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. Berlin, 13.-16.05.2015. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2015. Doc15hno11

doi: 10.3205/15hno11, urn:nbn:de:0183-15hno116

Published: August 10, 2015

© 2015 Roesch et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

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Introduction: In case of post-traumatic, single-sided sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), computed tomography (CT) of the temporal bone is recommended for diagnostic approach. In these cases the radiological finding of a clearly visible fracture line, running either longitudinally, transversely or in combination through the temporal bone is expected. In rare cases, fractures only appear at one single site of the otic capsule, making it difficult to find it in the CT-scan.

Methods: Retrospective, case-study of two patients

Results: In two clinical cases, small, isolated fractures of the otic capsule were initially not detected. After repeated diagnostic work-up of the existing imaging results, due to uncertain clinical findings, the fractures could be identified. In one case the fracture was in the region of the promontory, in the second case the fracture was in the region of the ampulla of the lateral semicircular canal.

Conclusion: Small fractures of the temporal bone, affecting only one isolated site of the otic capsule, can be overseen easily. In case of single-sided post-traumatic sensorineural hearing loss there is a need for special attention to the medial wall of the tympanic cavity in order to detect isolated fractures of that region.