Abstract
Objectives: Introducing a new terminology for tympanic membrane cyst, epidermal inclusion cyst (EIC), and to evaluate the clinical characteristics of this disease in children. Material & Method: Retrospective medical records review of patients less than 18 years of age who presented with EICs of the tympanic membrane in two tertiary hospitals. Results: A total of 8 patients aged 8 months to 18 years (3 girls and 5 boys) were identified between 1993 and 2003. Seven lesions were unilateral and one was bilateral. Two had multiple EICs. They were at different anatomical sites of the tympanic membrane, three at the umbo. three at the anteroinferior quadrant, and two had both anteroinferior and posterosuperior quadrant lesions. Six patients underwent surgical intervention, five had simple excision and one needed grafting. All of the EICs were limited to the outer epithelial layer of the tympanic membrane. No recurrence of the EIC was detected. The follow-up ranged from 3 moths to 3 years. Conclusion: The advantage of the new terminology is the pure topographic descriptive term of a cyst lying on the outer surface of the tympanic membrane. Recognition of the tympanic membrane EICs is important to distinguish them from cholesteatoma since the surgical treatment of the two lesions is so different.