A case of middle-ear cavernous lymphangioma with facial palsy

Only a few benign tumours of the middle ear have been reported to lead to the development of facial palsy. Here, we describe a patient with middle-ear cavernous lymphangioma and facial palsy. Single case study. A 61-year-old man presented with left-sided hearing impairment and incomplete left facial palsy. A tumour was confirmed to be occupying the epi- to mesotympanum and to be joined to the facial nerve. The tumour was removed along with facial nerve tissue, which was resected at its horizontal portion, and the remaining facial nerve was fixed by end-to-end anastomosis. Complete facial paralysis occurred after the operation, but the patient's House-Brackmann grade gradually improved to grade III. Post-operative histopathological examination revealed infiltration of the lymphangioma into the facial nerve tissue, together with mild neural atrophy of the facial nerve. These findings suggested that tumour invasion was the cause of facial palsy in this patient.