[Primitive carcinoid tumor of the middle ear: a case report and review of literature].

Carcinoid tumors are neuroendocrine neoplasms. Their prognosis is nearly always favorable and they rarely affect the middle ear. An accurate review of the literature has shown that since 1980 only 37 cases of primary carcinoid tumor of the middle ear have been described. Diagnostic precision has increasingly improved over the years thanks to the use of modern immunohistochemical techniques and electron microscopy. The treatment of choice is surgical exeresis through a radical tympanomastoidectomy. Distant metastases have never been indicated. The authors present a case of primary tympanic carcinoid tumor, basically extended to the external auditory duct. They underline the clinical aspects, the difficulties in histopathological diagnosis and the treatment strategies applied.