Preauricular cyst associated with congenital cholesteatoma: an unusual cause of facial palsy.

An unusual case is reported in which a preauricular cyst associated with a congenital cholesteatoma caused facial nerve paralysis in a 40-year-old woman. The patient underwent three exploratory temporal bone operations to locate a source of facial nerve compression, but the cause of the palsy was not found until resection of a preauricular cyst revealed an epithelial tract that was traced through the external auditory canal and across the tegmen tympani to the site of the cholesteatoma.