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Updated: Jul 19, 2025

Intrathecal Application of a Fluorescent Dye for the Identification of Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks in Cochlear Malformation
Published on: February 29, 2020
[SPONTANEOUS CEREBROSPINAL FLUID LEAK OF THE TEMPORAL BONE]
11Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Galilee Medical Center, Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel.
Introduction:
Spontaneous cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak into the temporal air spaces is a prominent risk factor for meningitis, often leading to debilitating neurological morbidities and even death. CSF leaks may arise due to trauma, congenital malformation, or surgery, but in most cases, they develop spontaneously. In spontaneous CSF leaks, no obvious triggering event is apparent in the patient's clinical history that points to this diagnosis, in contrast to some of the other etiologies. The clinical presentation of spontaneous CSF leaks is not unique and is characterized by patients' complaints, such as hearing loss and aural fullness. These symptoms are commonly associated with prevalent conditions, such as serous otitis media. For these reasons, a typical diagnostic delay of spontaneous CSF leaks, which can last for years in some cases, leaves the patients exposed to meningeal infection without being offered an efficient surgical treatment to keep them safe and protected.
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