Résumé
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and treatment of external auditory canal chol‐esteatoma (EACC) .Methods The clinical data of 38 cases(39 ears)with external auditory canal cholesteatoma from August 2006 to December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed .Results All the cases of EACC in this study had the external ear canal full of impacted squamous material or granulation tissue .The Holt and CT imaging examinations disclosed that 10 ears were phase I ,lesions were confined to the external auditory with no bone destruction .There were 23 ears were phase II ,the lesions were located in external auditory meatus with destruction of bone ,but with no involvement of the middle ear .There were 6 ears were phase III ,showing the lesions with disrupt external audi‐tory meatus and involvement of the middle ear ( mastoid and/or tympanic sinus) .Hearing impairment and aural fullness were the most common symptoms .The phase I cases were treated by removing cholesteatomas from the ex‐ternal auditory canal .Canaloplasty and/or tympanoplasty were performed in phase II cases .The phase III cases were successfully managed by modified radical mastoidectomy and/or tympanoplasty .There were 30 ears of tympan‐ic membrane were perfect and invaginate .There were 4 ears of ossicular chain were disrupted with one ear of facial nerve exposed .All surgeries were performed at once .No recurrence except in one patient was found during the fol‐low -up period .Conclusion The clinical stages can help identify the primary lesions and determine the choice of the best surgical approach .