Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 26, 2020; 8(16): 3616-3620
Published online Aug 26, 2020. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v8.i16.3616
First branchial cleft cyst accompanied by external auditory canal atresia and middle ear malformation: A case report
Chun-Lin Zhang, Chun-Lei Li, Hang-Qi Chen, Qiang Sun, Zhao-Hui Liu
Chun-Lin Zhang, Chun-Lei Li, Hang-Qi Chen, Qiang Sun, Zhao-Hui Liu, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563000, Guizhou Province, China
Hang-Qi Chen, Qiang Sun, Postgraduate College of Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi 563000, Guizhou Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang CL, Li CL, Chen HQ and Sun Q contributed surgical treatment and collected follow-up data; Zhang CL wrote the paper; Liu ZH designed the study; Liu ZH revised the manuscript; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: The patient gave informed consent. Consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. None of the authors have received funding from any organization with a real or potential interest in the subject matter, materials, equipment, software, or devices discussed.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Zhao-Hui Liu, MD, Chairman, Chief Doctor, Full Professor, Senior Lecturer, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University, No. 149 Dalian Road, Huichuan District, Zunyi 563000, Guizhou Province, China. rzent@163.com
Received: March 21, 2020
Peer-review started: March 21, 2020
First decision: April 22, 2020
Revised: May 6, 2020
Accepted: July 17, 2020
Article in press: July 17, 2020
Published online: August 26, 2020
Processing time: 156 Days and 20.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

We report a rare case of first branchial cleft anomaly (FBCA) accompanied by bony atresia of the external auditory canal, middle ear malformation, and location malformation of the facial nerve according to the intraoperative findings.

CASE SUMMARY

A 19-year-old male patient presented to our department with a mass behind the right earlobe and recurrent postauricular swelling and pain since childhood, he also had severe hearing loss in the right ear since birth. The patient underwent surgery including mass removal, mastoidectomy, and simultaneous meatoplasty and ossiculoplasty under microscopy. No facial palsy or recurrence was noted during postoperative follow-up.

CONCLUSION

FBCAs are rare, and to our knowledge, this is the first report of FBCA accompanied by external auditory canal bony atresia, middle ear malformation, and location malformation of the facial nerve. An effective postauricular approach under microscopy facilitated complete lesion removal and simultaneous otologic reconstruction.

Keywords: First branchial cleft anomaly; External auditory canal atresia; Middle ear malformation; Case report

Core tip: We report a rare case of first branchial cleft anomaly accompanied by bony atresia of the external auditory canal, middle ear malformation, and location malformation of the facial nerve according to the intraoperative findings. An effective treatment strategy including lesion excision, mastoidectomy, and simultaneous meatoplasty and ossiculoplasty was undertaken, which achieved a satisfactory outcome.