Cranial fasciitis presenting as an external auditory canal mass.

Cranial fasciitis is a rare benign lesion that develops in childhood. It is considered a subset of nodular fasciitis but occurs selectively in the scalp of children. A review of the world literature revealed only 22 other published cases and no previous reports of a lesion involving the petrous portion of the temporal bone or presenting as a mass in the external auditory canal. We report a rare case of cranial fasciitis in the petrous portion of the temporal bone of a neonate and present a review of the literature.