Attic Cholesteatoma Radiology

The mass extends superiorly into the attic and appears to have eroded through the tegmentum as well as through the fallopian canal of the facial nerve and perhaps the lateral semicircular canal.

Attic cholesteatoma radiology.

Findings are characteristic of an acquired cholesteatoma. Radiopaedia is free thanks to our supporters and advertisers. On the dwi images with b value 1000 s mm 2 a cholesteatoma becomes apparent as a hyperintense area. Although a cholesteatoma is histologically identical to an epidermoid or epidermal.

Cholesteatoma is not a neoplasm and can be thought of most simply as skin in the wrong place. However the sequence is prone to artefact and care must be taken how the sequence is performed and interpreted 2. It is the only entity that demonstrates high signal intensity on dwi. The external acoustic canal is a rare location for a cholesteatoma with an estimated incidence around 1 2 per 1 000 new otological patients.

The signal intensity should be higher than visible on the dwi images with b value 0 s mm 2. For comparison the annual incidence of middle ear cholesteatoma is around 9 2 per 100 000. The overall incidence rate in one large study was 0 30 per year per 100 000 inhabitants 1. On the adc map a low signal should be visible in the same area confirming the presence of diffusion restriction.