Clinical controversy in orbitary cholesteatoma

Cholesterol granulomas are tumor-like lesions very rarely encountered in the orbital, frontal sinus, and maxillary sinus sites but with higher frequency in the middle-ear and petrous apex. Theoretically, cholesterol granulomas develop as a reaction to localized hemorrhages, often occurring in bony sites with no blood and blood products drainage. We present 5 cases with exophthalmoses, namely, 3 cases with granuloma and 2 cases with cholesteatoma, all being characterized by the presence of cholesterol spikes at the histologic examination. Henderson (Orbital tumors. 3rd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1994) reports cholesterol spikes in medical literature as structures with different histologic names as hematic cyst, intraorbital hematoma, subperiostal hemorrhages, chocolate cyst, and xanthomatosis reactive lesions of bone. In fact, cholesterol granuloma is the term for the pocket of hematogenous debris found in the frontal bone at surgery. We try to review the spectrum of clinical-pathological and radiographic features that characterize cholesterol granuloma but with the same surgical way management.