Mastoidectomy

Last revised by Yuranga Weerakkody on 19 Feb 2023

Mastoidectomy is a fairly frequent procedure performed for a variety of temporal bone pathologies including mastoiditis and cholesteatoma. It involves removing part of the bony wall of the mastoid to aid in drainage and surgical excision.

Types of mastoidectomy

A number of procedures have been described, commonly divided into

Simple mastoidectomy

The lateral wall of the mastoid is removed. The posterosuperior wall of the external acoustic meatus is preserved 1. This approach does not allow visualization of the ossicular chain. 

Canal wall up (closed) mastoidectomy

Similar to a simple mastoidectomy in that the lateral wall of the mastoid is removed and the posterosuperior wall of the external acoustic meatus is preserved 1. Additionally, Koerner's septum is removed which grants access to the middle ear cavity and allows the ossicles to be seen1

Canal wall down (open) mastoidectomy

Similar to a canal wall up mastoidectomy in that the lateral wall of the mastoid is removed and Koerner's septum is removed creating a communication with the middle ear cavity 1. The main difference is that the posterosuperior wall of the external acoustic meatus is also removed 1. The tympanic membrane is usually reconstructed. 

A modified canal wall down mastoidectomy is similar but does not manipulate the ossicular chain or the tympanic membrane. 

Complications

Some of the more common complications include: 

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