Conductive Hearing Loss in Two Patients Caused by Hemotympanum after Frontotemporal Craniotomy

Frontotemporal craniotomy is one of the most commonly practiced operative procedures in craniotomy. We describe our experience with two representative patients in whom conductive hearing loss developed after frontotemporal craniotomy with hemotympanum. We also review the relevant literature. Case 1 was a 69-year-old woman with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm at the bifurcation of the left internal carotid artery and posterior communicating artery. Case 2 was a 69-year-old woman with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm in the left middle cerebral artery. In both cases, clipping surgery was performed using a frontotemporal craniotomy approach. Both experienced hearing loss in the left ear starting a few days after surgery and visited the department of otolaryngology in our hospital. Conductive hearing loss caused by hemotympanum was diagnosed in both cases. We rarely see patients developing hemotympanum after frontotemporal craniotomy. We, herein, examine the causes and countermeasures through anatomical findings.