Congenital middle ear cholesteatoma: report of 3 cases.

In this report, we presented 3 cases of congenital middle ear cholesteatoma which occurred in a 12-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, and a 6-year-old boy. In all 3 cases, there was a whitish mass behind a normal tympanic membrane. Congenital middle ear cholesteatoma is not a rare disease. In the early stage, it is asymptomatic. But when it progresses, this disorder can destroy conductive systems of the middle ear and cause many symptoms. One patient (Case 1) had a complaint of hearing impairment. She underwent mastoidectomy and tympanoplasty; however, the cholesteatoma recurred. The other 2 patients had no symptoms. The abnormal appearance of their tympanic membrane was found by chance at their local otologists. We performed tympanotomies and removed cholesteatomas without aftereffects. When otologists note an abnormal appearance behind a normal tympanic membrane, with or without symptoms, tympanotomy should be done due to the possibility of congenital middle ear cholesteatoma.