The analysis of the operated temporal bone injuries

An analysis of temporal bone injuries operated on in our hospital is reported. Twenty-one cases with traumatized middle and inner ears were operated on at the Division of Otolaryngology, Mitsui Memorial Hospital from January 1993 to September 2006. Causes of the trauma were self-inflicted injury (28%) and assault (24%). Sixteen cases (76%) of the patients had disruption of the tympanic membrane without ossicular damage. Ten percent of the patients had inner ear damage and 14% had disruption of the tympanic membrane with ossicular damage. The frequent cause of tympanic membrane disruption was assault (32%). The mean period from the trauma to the operation was 5 months.