Cavernous hemangioma of the external ear: case report and literature review.

OBJECTIVES

To describethe occurrence of a cavernous hemangioma of the external auditory meatus extending to the middle ear and the retroauricolar region in an adult patient, and to review the relevant literature.

METHODS

Case report. We report the clinical presentation, imaging studies and surgical procedures used in the study.

RESULTS

The angiographic study showed that the blood supply of the mass originated from the posterior auricular artery. Via a retroauricular approach, this artery was isolated and ligated in order to control the intra-operative bleeding. A canal wall up mastoidectomy with posterior tympanotomy and a tympano-canaloplasty were performed, permitting a complete excision. At 36 months of follow-up, no clinical and radiological signs of recurrence were detected.

CONCLUSION

Surgical removal is the treatment of choice, with rare recurrence of the hemangiomas. Pre-operative evaluation is based on computed tomography (CT scan), but should be followed by magnetic resonance angiography (MR-angio) or intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (IA-DSA), especially in case of wider lesions.