The Surgical Management of Temporal Bone and Lateral Skull Base Defects

Abstract

Object: Defects in the lateral skull base through the tegmen tympani or tegmen mastoideum allow communication of the sterile CSF environment with the middle ear. Risk of CSF leak presenting with otorrhea or rhinorrhea, the development of meningitis or further cranial infections are the main reason for surgical closure of these defects. We present our series of lateral skull base defects and discuss their presentation, surgical management and outcomes.