Nonpetrous Cholesterol Granuloma Presenting as a Temporal Mass

Cholesterol granulomas are typically found in the petrous apex and occasionally in the paranasal sinuses and orbit. Experience with the treatment of these expansile inflammatory processes has largely been garnered from those occurring in the petrous apex where they are surgically drained either through a transmastoid or middle fossa approach. We present a case of cholesterol granuloma situated in the infratemporal fossa presenting as a temporal mass. The accessible location of this particular lesion made it amenable to total excision avoiding the need for surgical drainage and possibility for recurrence. We discuss support for the theory of pathogenesis of such lesions typically occurring where pneumatized air spaces interface with bone marrow, in this case, where the reaches of pneumatized cells in the squamous portion of the temporal bone meet diploic bone.

No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).