Luc's abscess as an unlucky complication of mastoiditis

Luc's abscess is a rare but important complication of acute otitis media (AOM), whereby infection spreads from the middle ear, resulting in a subperiosteal collection beneath the temporal muscle. Unlike other extracranial abscesses relating to AOM, Luc's abscess is not believed to involve the mastoid bone. We present the case of a patient with a Luc's abscess with mastoid involvement and discuss its successful management. We believe that patients presenting with a subperiosteal collection beneath the temporal muscle and mastoiditis may represent a different group of patients to those described originally by Luc. These individuals can be differentiated using computed tomography (CT) of the temporal bones. We advocate CT in patients with Luc's abscess and AOM; this aids preoperative surgical planning.