From 1975 to 1986, 1568 patients with otitis media were treated surgically at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Kitano Hospital. During surgery, we removed granulation tissue from 648 ears, and with light microscopy we found 122 cases of cholesterol granulation. In these 122 patients the following items were recorded: age, sex, culture of the otorrhea before surgery, treatment of the ossicular chain, hearing before and after surgery, lesions in the Fallopian canal, and complications of the cholesteatoma and the labyrinthine fistula.
Cholesterol granuloma was found in various parts of the ear, but most frequently in the mastoid and attic. In 122 cases, cholesteatoma was present in 78 and deafness in 15. Moreover, vertigo, acute worsening of hearing and difficulty in the healing of wounds occurred frequently.
Therefore, in treating otitis media, one must always been in mind these possible complications.
