[Congenital cholesteatoma frequently mistaken for temporal bone dermoid cyst: a case report]

Dermoid cysts of the middle ear are very rare and can develop behind an intact tympanic membrane, just like congenital cholesteatoma. The visual and clinical symptoms of congenital cholesteatomas and dermoid cysts are difficult to distinguish from each other. Their treatments are similar, however the correct diagnosis can be obtained histopathologically after removing the lesion. In this article a case of a twenty-seven-year-old male patient, whose diagnosis was presumed to be dermoid cyst in the middle ear according to the preoperative radiologic examination but reported to be congenital cholesteatoma as a result of the postoperative histopathologic examination, was reported.