THE diagnosis of lesions affecting the seventh and eighth cranial nerves may be difficult. In patients who have unilateral perceptive hearing loss and facial nerve signs of paralysis1 or hemifacial spasm,2 the presence of a congenital cholesteatoma should be suspected.3,4 Plain-film roentgenography of the temporal bone will often confirm the diagnosis and positive-contrast myelography of the posterior fossa will give evidence of the extent of the tumor. This paper presents two cases of congenital intratemporal cholesteatoma. Each case had negative findings on suboccipital craniotomy for possible removal of a cerebellopontine-angle tumor, which was subsequently removed by the translabyrinthine approach.
Report of Cases
Case 1.—This 31-year-old white man was first examined at our clinic in 1949. He had had a hearing loss of a conductive type in the right ear for two years. Although the tympanic membrane was dull on the right, examinations including roentgenograms of the