Foramen tympanicum with symptomatic temporomandibular joint herniation

Abstract

Foramen tympanicum (FT), or foramen of Huschke, describes an uncommon anatomicvariant of a persistent bony defect connecting the external acoustic meatus to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Although rare, it can be associated with significant complications, such as TMJ herniation, salivary gland fistula, infectious or tumoral spread between the external acoustic meatus and the TMJ, or result in inadvertent ear injury during TMJ arthroscopy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a symptomatic FT with a full description of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings. Surgical exploration confirmed the presence of FT with TMJ herniation with subsequent successful closure of the defect obtained.