Tuberculosis of the middle-ear cleft

Summary

• 1. A series of seven cases of tuborculosis of the middle-ear cleft has been presented.

• 2. In all the cases, the lesion in the ear was secondary to tuberuclosis elsewhere in the body, thus lending support to the haematogenons theory.

• 3. In view of the secondary nature of the disease, treatment aims at controlling the activity of the primary lesion prior to carring out complete excision of the diseased tissues by surgical means.

• 4 Almost all the known complications of tuberculosis of the middle-ear cleft such as multiple post-auricular discharging sinuses, facial palsy, labyrinthitis, meningitis, extradural absess, and thrombosis of the lateral sinus etc. have been observed in the series of cases reported in the present study.