Two Cases of Skull Base Osteomyelitis after Mastoidectomy

Abstract

Skull base osteomyelitis is originated from inappropriately treated chronic infections near the skull base. If diagnosis and treatment are delayed, it occasionally causes multiple cranial nerve palsy, with the mortality rate being as high as 60%. Skull base osteomyelitis typically evolves as a complication of external otitis in diabetic patients, so it has been thought as a synonym for malignant external otitis. However, the routes of infection are diverse. We experienced two patients of atypical skull base osteomyelitis after mastoidectomy. It is an unusual complication of mastoidectomy, so we report about these cases. (Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg 2009;52:279-83)