Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun;76(3):171-5.
doi: 10.1055/s-0034-1395489. Epub 2014 Dec 24.

Hearing Outcomes after Surgical Drainage of Petrous Apex Cholesterol Granuloma

Jordan Rihani  1 , J Walter Kutz Jr  1 , Brandon Isaacson  1
Affiliations

Hearing Outcomes after Surgical Drainage of Petrous Apex Cholesterol Granuloma

Jordan Rihani et al. J Neurol Surg B Skull Base. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Objective This study aims to assess the hearing outcomes of patients undergoing surgical management of petrous apex cholesterol granuloma and to discuss the role of otic capsule-sparing approaches in drainage of petrous apex cholesterol granulomas. Design Retrospective case series. Setting Tertiary care medical center. Participants Eight patients underwent surgery for presumed or definitive cholesterol granuloma between 2002 and 2011 and met the inclusion criteria for this study. Main Outcome Measures Pre- and postoperative audiogram results as measured by pure tone thresholds and word recognition scores. Results Four patients (50%) demonstrated improvement in speech discrimination. One patient had an increase from 0 to 67% in word recognition scores. Four patients (50%) demonstrated worsening of pure tone thresholds, including two patients with anacusis. Conclusion Perilabyrinthine drainage of petrous apex cholesterol granulomas may result in hearing preservation or hearing improvement, even in the setting of otic capsule erosion. Patients should be counseled about the potential risk of significant hearing loss.

Keywords: cholesterol granuloma; hearing outcomes; petrous apex.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Axial computed tomography scan showing (A) internal auditory canal erosion (arrow marks erosion into the internal auditory canal) and (B) cochlea erosion (arrow mark erosion into the medial aspect of the inferior basal turn of the cochlea).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Scatterplot showing postoperative changes in hearing.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Watanabe Y, Nakashima T, Yanagita N. Venous communications of the cochlea after acute occlusion of the vein of the cochlear aqueduct. Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 1988;245(6):340–343. - PubMed
    1. Brackmann D E, Toh E H. Surgical management of petrous apex cholesterol granulomas. Otol Neurotol. 2002;23(4):529–533. - PubMed
    1. Ghorayeb B Y, Jahrsdoerfer R A. Subcochlear approach for cholesterol granulomas of the inferior petrous apex. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1990;103(1):60–65. - PubMed
    1. Gacek R R Diagnosis and management of primary tumors of the petrous apex Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 197584(1 PT. 2 SUPPL 18, 1pt. 2 suppl 18):1–20. - PubMed
    1. Gurgel R K, Jackler R K, Dobie R A, Popelka G R. A new standardized format for reporting hearing outcome in clinical trials. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2012;147(5):803–807. - PubMed