My son is now 12 years old. He has been having problems with cholesteatoma since he was 5 years old. He has had 6 operations.......the last being the most major one, in which the cholesteatoma had grown the largest. He had been symptom free since the last surg. in 1994, and now presents a recurrence identified by cat scan. He is scheduled for surgery in May, 1997. My question to you, is how much longer witll this keep going on, and is there an end to this cholesteatoma, or will my son continually have to require surgery, every year or so? Myself and my husband, along with myself are extremely worried and depressed about this. Can you shed any light on this most difficult time for us? (The last surg. required an incision behind the ear into the mastoid cavity)
Reply: --------------------------
This is a most unusual history. It would be very unusual even for the most advanced mastoid cholesteatomas to require so many operations for recurrences (6 operations in 7 years). If you had reported that several of the operations were not specifically performed for removal of cholesteatoma but rather for reconstruction surgery of the ear, it might be more understandable. More information regarding the details of each operation would be necessary to better understand why this has been such a problem for your child. I would strongly suggest, if you have not already done so, to consult with an ear, nose, and throat surgeon whose practice is limited to medical and surgical treatment of the ear only - a specialist known as an otologist or neurotologist.
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Steve Dankle, MD
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Milwaukee, Wis
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