Prognostic factors of recidivism in pediatric cholesteatoma surgery

Objective: To analyze the results on a series of pediatric cholesteatomas, using various preoperative factors, including some of the proposed classification systems, to identify those factors that influence the postoperative result. Method: Retrospective review of 118 children with acquired cholesteatoma who underwent surgery from January 1978 to October 1999. The median observation period was 5 years, range 1-20 years. The rate of recidivism calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and relative risk by the Cox regression model. Results: Cholesteatoma in patients less than 8 years old with mastoid involvement had significantly higher risk of recidivism than the other groups examined. Conclusions: In this study, cholesteatoma recurred up to 5 years after operation, and tong-term close follow-up is important especially in cases involving higher risk such as younger child with mastoid extension of cholesteatoma. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.