[Teratoma of the middle ear. Apropos of 4 new cases]

Teratomas are benign hereditary tumors which are exceptionally located in the middle ear. We observed 4 cases and underline the difficulty in preoperative differential diagnosis with hereditary cholesteatoma using CT scan and emphasize the potential of MRI. Generally, diagnosis can only be confirmed by the peroperative macroscopic aspect of the tumor and after pathology examination (multi-tissue teratoma). The difficulty in excising the tumor is directly related to the degree of the subsequent deformation of the middle ear. Ossiculoplasty was required in 2 of our 4 cases. Finally, rare recurrence requires follow-up in these young patients.