Cholesteatoma | Ear Specialist Dr Rebecca Heywood

Tel: 65 6950 2869

Cholesteatoma

What is Cholesteatoma?

Cholesteatoma is a disease of the ear. It develops when trapped skin forms a mass in the middle ear space and mastoid bone. The mass grows slowly and may cause discharge, dizziness, hearing loss and facial weakness.

Cholesteatoma in the left ear

After tympanomastoid surgery

What causes Cholesteatoma?

Cholesteatoma is usually the result of the retraction of a pocket of the ear drum due to poor function of the eustachian tube (a structure that helps to equalise pressure between the middle ear and the back of the nose). Dead skin from the ear drum can no longer shed from the ear canal in the normal way and gets stuck in the pocket. It can also be caused by trauma or be congenital.

How is Cholesteatoma treated?

The disease should be treated to prevent damage to the structures within the ear and spread of infection beyond the ear. While antibiotics are used to treat the infection, surgery is almost always recommended to remove the disease and its associated risks entirely.