Cholesteatoma of the Maxillary Sinus: A Case Report

Abstract

TRUE cholesteatoma of the maxillary sinus is an unusual condition in which the normal respiratory epithelium lining the sinus has been partially or totally replaced by a hyperkeratotic squamous epithelium which in turn leads to the formation of lamellar sheets of keratin—the cholesteatoma. Complications, secondary to the involvement of neighboring structures in the interplay of bone erosion and infection, may occur. The rarity of this disease is illustrated by Fendel¹who could find only one case in 30 years at the Jena University Clinic. <h3>Report of a Case</h3> The patient, a 36-year-old white man, developed a toothache and left frontal headache. The following day he consulted an oral surgeon who diagnosed and extracted, without operative complications, an infected, impacted upper third left molar; there was no evidence of a dental cyst. The patient, except for a healed peptic ulcer and hay fever and asthma in childhood, had previously been