Primary temporal bone secretory meningioma presenting as chronic otitis media

Abstract

We report an extremely rare case of a secretory meningioma primarily involving the temporal bone. A 56-year old female patient presented to us with a history of a chronic otitis media and unilateral hearing loss. Diagnostic investigations revealed a tumor arising from the temporal bone without signs of intracranial involvement. Histopathological examination showed a meningioma of the secretory type. The tumor was partially resected and serial imaging at follow-up revealed no extension of the tumor. No new symptoms developed 1 year after surgery. Secretory meningioma is a rare meningioma subtype and extracranial presentation in the temporal bone is very unusual. We present the first case of a primary temporal bone secretory meningioma in the otorhinolaryngological literature. As radical as possible surgical excision with serial imaging at follow-up is recommended. © 2007 The Author(s).