Congenital and Acquired Atresia of Cartilaginous External Auditory Canal. A Report of Two Cases.

Two cases of atresia of the cartilaginous external auditory canal are presented to emphasize importance of 1) preoperative assessment of the obstructive portion and 2) prevention of recurrence. Case 1: A 12-year-old girl consulted us with complaints of right otorrhea and otalgia. She had right congenital external auditory canal atresia with a fistula draining pus from the bony external canal. CT showed the atresia limited to the cartilaginous portion. Case 2: A 26-year-old female consulted us with a complaint of left hearing loss. She had left traumatic external auditory canal atresia. CT showed the ear canal totally obstructed with connective tissue, and MRI showed that the atresia was limited to the cartilaginous portion with effusion in the bony external canal. A canalplasty was done successfully in both cases. In case 1, the canalplasty was combined with tympanoplasty to control the complicated severe chronic otitis media with adhesive ear drum and defect of the lenticular process. The bony external canal was filled with cholesteatoma mass. Early surgical treatment is needed to avoid such complications. A stent must be placed for a long time to prevent the recurrence of stenosis. We recommend the placement of a silastic tube for that purpose.