Autotymapanomastoidectomy in a case of cholesteatoma with foreign body.

A unique case of foreign body of the external auditory canal (EAC) in a 16 year old boy with normal intelligence is presented. The foreign body caused the cholesteatoma to flourish behind the obstruction resulting in complete destruction of middle ear cleft and external auditory canal to form a single large cavity. The diagnosis of foreign body remained elusive till the last and could be proved only after biochemical analysis. We also discuss the Keratosis obturans, cholesteatoma of external auditory canal and the process of calcification in cholesteatoma ear, which was thought to represent the foreign body in this case.