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The surgical management of recalcitrant malignant external otitis

Aggressive medical management and surgical debridement is curative in most cases of malignant external otitis. Recently, four patients with this condition were treated at the University of California, San Francisco, who did not respond to conventional therapy. In each case, appropriate intravenous antibiotics, diabetic management, and extensive excision of involved tissue failed to eradicate the infection. Progression of the disease was evidenced by any one of the following: 1. Persistence of granulation tissue in the external auditory canal, 2. Development of cranial neuropathies during treatment, 3. Other signs or symptoms of active infection for more than two weeks after institution of therapy. Any one of these criteria was considered an indication for more radical surgical intervention. In three patients, the operative procedure consisted of a subtotal temporal bone resection to gain access to the primary focus of infection and provide adequate drainage. The common finding in each case was an abscess cavity in the soft tissues at the base of the skull. A description of the clinical course and surgical management of malignant external otitis forms the basis of this communication.