Salivary gland choristoma of the middle ear

A 5-year-old female with a so-called "salivary gland choristoma" in the middle ear is reported, believed to represent the nineteenth such case in the literature. The nineteen cases are reviewed. The only consistent symptom was deafness. Aural discharge, tinnitus and otalgia occurred occasionally. The findings included a middle ear mass, conduction deafness and sometimes facial and external ear developmental disorders. At surgery a lobulated firm mass in the posterosuperior tympanum was usually found, being mobile and often pedunculated from a dehiscent part of the horizontal facial nerve. Ossicular and outer ear developmental abnormalities were common.