[Aneurysmal temporal bone cyst. Apropos of 2 new cases]

Aneurysmal bone cyst is a well known lesion on the metaphyse of lung tubular bones or on the spine. Unusually, it is detected on the skull and more rarely again on the temporal bone. The authors, talking about the eleven cases they have found in the literature and two recent personal cases, try to describe the main diagnostic dates of this temporal lesion which one has never known if it is a real tumor or a reactional dystrophic pseudotumor secondary to an intrabone circulatory incident, perhaps a phlebitis. As for all other locations, these temporal bone forms are more frequently encountered among adolescents or young adults and, because their blowing bone effect, give clinical signs which directly result from their aggressive behavior on the surrounding structures, in this particular location: temporal fossa swelling, otologic, ophthalmologic or stomatologic symptoms, facial or trigeminal nerves troubles and rarely central neurological signs. On CT-scan, it appears as a space-occupying lesion located in the temporal fossa, with a blowing bone aspect, with intracranial and infratemporal expansions. This CT scan lesion is heterogeneous and contrast enhanced except in its center which is hypodense, as a cyst. The MRI shows comparable pictures. Its total excision, made easier by a preoperative embolization, gives a total and definitive recovery.