Surgical management of chondroblastoma of the temporal bone

Chondroblastoma of the skull is a benign but locally aggressive tumor. In the past, simple curettage and radiation therapy have been advocated for treatment of this tumor. We present two patients with chondroblastoma of the temporal bone. The tumor extended through the dura in both patients and into the temporal lobe in one patient. Both patients were treated with wide local excision using a combined extended transmastoid and middle cranial fossa approach. On the basis of these two cases and a review of the literature, we recommend complete surgical excision as the primary treatment for chondroblastoma of the temporal bone.