Diagnosis of recurrent cholesteatoma using diffusion weighted MRI

Objective: To assess the role of diffusion weighted images (DWI) MRI in differentiating post mastoidectomy recurrent cholesteatoma from infected postoperative granulation tissue. Materials and methods: 13 patients who performed mastoidectomy for previous cholesteatoma that now presented with clinical and CT signs of recurrence were referred to perform non contrast MRI using T2 and DWI sequences in order to differentiate recurrent cholesteatoma from infected postoperative granulation tissue. Results: 8 patients showed MRI evidence of recurrent cholesteatoma, findings were confirmed intra-operative, -ve cases showed good response on medical treatment with regression of their clinical and radiological signs. Conclusion: DWI MRI accurately differentiates recurrent cholesteatoma from infected post operative granulation tissue avoiding unnecessary second look operations. (C) 2015 Egyptian Society of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.