TITLE:
Salivary Gland Choristoma of the Middle Ear and Review of the Literature
AUTHORS:
Serafín Sánchez Gómez, Juan Manuel Maza Solano, José Ramón Armas Padrón, Francisco Refolio Sánchez, Tomás Francisco Herrero Salado
KEYWORDS:
Salivary Gland; Choristoma; Middle Ear; Facial Palsy; Herpesvirus Reactivation
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery,
Vol.2 No.6,
November
8,
2013
ABSTRACT: Conductive hearing loss due
to middle ear masses is uncommon and usually diagnosed after biopsy. We present
a case of a permanent facial palsy occurred following an uneventful biopsy
during an exploratory tympanotomy in a salivary gland choristoma of the middle
ear. Most salivary gland choristomas have been found in the head and neck. Its
location in the ear is extremely rare, and thus we present the 38th case in
English and non-English literature from the first publication by Taylor in
1961. Complete surgical removal of salivary gland choristomas of the middle ear
is indicated when may not result in permanent damage to the facial nerve. Only
biopsy and observation are recommended when the mass is intimately associated
with the facial nerve or there are unsafe facial nerve abnormalities. Although
the facial nerve is involved in 40% of cases, transient or even permanent
facial palsies are exceptional. The reactivation of latent herpes virus in the
facial canal may be involved in facial palsy’ etiology following minimal and
uneventful middle ear surgery like a biopsy rather than nerve injury related to
facial canal malformations.