The etiopathology of an acute peripheral facial palsy is often hard to identify. If the facial weakness starts together with symptoms suggesting an inflammatory process, the differential diagnosis may be focused first on diseases like herpes zoster oticus and a severe course of acute purulent otitis media. We report the cases of 2 rare middle ear tumors causing facial palsy. Treatment of choice should be complete surgical excision.
In case of the co-occurrence of facial palsy and inflammation-like symptoms of the same ear, the differential diagnosis is focused on viral (herpes zoster) or bacterial diseases. We report a patient for whom the surgical exploration of the middle ear revealed a benign tumor: a myxoma. These neoplasias are rare tumors in the head and neck region. The typical tumor site is the atrium of heart. In the ear, the tumor grows slowly and remains asymptomatic unless it irritates structures such as the facial nerve or the vestibular organ. Histologically, the tumor presents a "myxoid" matrix that is rich in acid mucopolysaccarides. The treatment of choice is complete surgical resection. Using the case presented, we discuss the causality between the tumor and the facial palsy, although during the operation the bony canal of the nerve was found to be intact. In any cases with clinically and radiologically unclear findings of the ear in connection with facial palsy, surgical exposure should be considered.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.