Silent Otitis Media Presenting as Subperiosteal Abscess- A Case Report

Otitis media is an inflammation of mucoperiosteal layer of the middle ear cleft which occurs mostly due to eustachian tube dysfunction superadded with an infective aetiology. It is said that younger children are more commonly affected due to the anatomical difference of eustachian tube in children from an adult, but adults are affected as well. Usually acute otitis media may settle following a course of antibiotics, however, it can lead to persistence of infection or becoming chronic and may lead to severe intra and extracranial complications. This report is of a 16-year-old male who presented with a painful swelling in right postauricular region for two weeks duration. The right ear had a diffuse swelling of size 6×1×5 cm in the postauricular region, tender on palpation, firm in consistency, and was fluctuant. Otoscopic examination of the right ear showed bulge out and intact tympanic membrane without active discharge and congestion. High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) of temporal bone showed right otomastoiditis with erosion of the lateral cortex of the right mastoid. He underwent right cortical mastoidectomy under general anaesthesia. The patient was on follow-up for six months and no recurrence was noted.