AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 20:275±277, February 1999 Case Report Spontaneous CSF Otorrhea Caused by Abnormal Development of the Facial Nerve Canal Leonard V. Petrus and W. W. M. Lo Summary: In two patients with surgically proved CSF ®s- leased. Further dissection and inspection of the geniculate fossa tula through the facial nerve canal, MR and CT exami- revealed that the facial nerve ®bers lay free in the geniculate fossa nations showed smooth enlargement of the geniculate fossa and were separated into multiple ®laments. A CSF leak from the cerebellopontine angle via the meatal foramen of the fallopian with CSF signal. In the clinical setting of CSF otorrhea or canal into the geniculate fossa was found and repaired by ®lling rhinorrhea, the presence of an enlarged labyrinthine facial the entire geniculate fossa with a temporalis muscle graft. The nerve canal and enlarged geniculate fossa on CT scans and patient did well postoperatively, with no facial nerve dysfunction CSF intensity on MR images strongly suggests a CSF and with resolution of the CSF leak. ®stula through the facial nerve canal. Case 2 Spontaneous CSF ®stulas from the subarachnoid A 5-year-old boy underwent myringotomy at another insti- space into the middle ear cavity rarely occur via the tution for chronic left-sided otitis media. At the time of sur- gery, spontaneous CSF otorrhea was encountered. A CT scan proximal facial nerve canal (1, 2). Gacek and Leipzig suggested a small defect in the roof of the temporal bone that detailed such a case in 1979, accompanied by sur- was surgically sealed with temporalis fascia. Eleven months gical ®ndings, illustrative drawings, and histopatho- after the initial repair, the patient had a recurrence of the spon- logic sections (1). In 1983, Phelps brie¯y described taneous CSF leak from the left ear. High-resolution CT of the a similar case in which he ®lled an arachnoid sac in temporal bone without intrathecal contrast material revealed the region of the geniculate fossa with intrathecal io- smooth enlargement of the pre- and postgeniculate facial nerve canal, including the geniculate fossa (Fig 2A and B). Abnormal phendylate (2). However, this route of CSF ®stula is soft tissue and/or liquid was also present within the middle ear not widely known, because few, if any, additional cavity. A coronal T2-weighted MR image revealed a focus of cases have been reported subsequently (3). We report high signal intensity in the region of the geniculate fossa (Fig two such recent cases, both diagnosed on high-reso- 2C). Through a middle fossa craniotomy, upon elevating the lution CT scans and con®rmed at surgery. dura from the greater super®cial petrosal nerve, CSF was seen emanating from the facial hiatus along the greater super®cial petrosal nerve. The bony covering of the geniculate fossa was Case Reports intact, and upon removal of this bone, pulsation of the sheath over the geniculate ganglion was apparent. Removal of the Case 1 bone from over the enlarged proximal tympanic segment of the facial nerve revealed it to be ®lled with CSF. The labyrin- A 34-year-old man was referred to his otologist with a his- thine segment of the facial nerve canal was also expanded and tory of three episodes of meningitis over the course of 1 year. ®lled with CSF. The area of the labyrinthine segment of the Earlier, he was thought to have chronic otitis and in retrospect facial nerve and geniculate ganglion was successfully tampon- had had one episode of CSF otorrhea from his right ear and aded with temporalis muscle with no loss of facial nerve one episode of CSF rhinorrhea from his right nostril. Physical function postoperatively. The CSF leak resolved after surgery. examination revealed a polyethylene tube through the right tympanic membrane. Audiographic ®ndings and neurologic status were normal. High-resolution CT of the temporal bone Discussion revealed opaci®cation of most of the right mastoid air cells. In addition, the right labyrinthine facial nerve canal was slightly In patients with recurrent meningitis, one of the widened and led to a smoothly enlarged geniculate fossa (Fig possible routes of infection is via an abnormal 1). The osseous inner ear structures were normal. No positive pathway connecting the CSF space with the middle contrast cisternography was carried out. ear or mastoid air cells. These patients may also Through a middle fossa craniotomy, a bulge in the area of the geniculate ganglion was observed. The overlying bone was intact, have CSF rhinorrhea or CSF otorrhea, depending and upon removal of just a little bit of the bone, CSF was re- on the integrity of the ear drum. The commonly recognized causes of CSF leak- Received February 23, 1998; accepted after revision July 6. age into the middle ear include trauma to the tem- From the Department of Radiological Sciences, Olive View- poral bone and prior surgery with subsequent tem- UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA (L.V.P.), and the Depart- poral bone defects and chronic infection (4, 5). ment of Radiology, St. Vincent Medical Center, Los Angeles, Spontaneous CSF ®stulas from the subarachnoid CA (W.W.M.L.). space into the middle ear cavity are uncommon and Address reprint requests to Leonard V. Petrus, MD, Depart- ment of Radiological Sciences, Olive View-UCLA Medical may be classi®ed into two types: those that extend Center, 14445 Olive View Dr, 2D139, Sylmar, CA 91342. to the middle ear or external canal (perilabyrin- thine) and those associated with a developmental q American Society of Neuroradiology anomaly of the cochlea (translabyrinthine) (2, 6). 275 MS 276 PETRUS AJNR: 20, February 1999 FIG 1. A±C, 34-year-old man with three episodes of meningitis over the course of 1 year. High-resolution coronal temporal bone CT scans of the right ear show smooth enlargement of the right geniculate fossa (arrow, A) and of the labyrinthine facial nerve canal (arrow, B), and a normal labyrinthine facial nerve canal of the left ear (arrow, C). FIG 2. 5-year-old boy in whom myringotomy had been per- formed to correct left-sided otitis media. A and B, Axial CT scans of the temporal bones show enlarged left geniculate fossa (arrow, A) and enlarged tympanic facial nerve canal (arrows, B). C, Coronal T2-weighted MR image shows an area of high sig- nal intensity, consistent with CSF superior to the cochlea in the region of the left geniculate fossa (arrow). The more common translabyrinthine variety is congenital pathways were proposed by Gacek and nearly always associated with anacusis and a severe Leipzig (1). Two of the four, both rare, have been labyrinthine dysplasia. The involved cochlea com- well documented; namely, those through the prox- pletely lacks a modiolus and thus permits ready com- imal facial nerve canal, such as our two cases, and munication between the CSF and the perilymphatic those through the Hyrtl ®ssure, which is located spaces and leakage through the oval window or a inferior to the round window niche and extends hole in the stapedial footplate (2, 6, 7). Contrary to along the inferior aspect of the cochlea connecting popular belief, however, a true Mondini malforma- the hypotympanum with the posterior fossa (2). tion, which consists of an incompletely partitioned The petromastoid canal, which carries the subar- cochlea with an intact base of the modiolus, is not a cuate vessels beneath the superior semicircular ca- risk factor for spontaneous ®stulas (2, 8). nal to the periantral mastoid air cells, has been pro- The rarer spontaneous perilabyrinthine ®stulas posed but not proved to be a route for ®stulas or may be congenital or acquired (2). Four potential meningitis (2, 9). AJNR: 20, February 1999 CSF OTORRHEA 277 Fistulization through a dilated cochlear aqueduct Conclusion has been the subject of considerable controversy (10, By themselves, the CT ®ndings in our two pa- 11). The cochlea aqueduct has been considered as a tients would have raised the possibility of a facial route for an ``ooze,'' a gentle ¯ow of perilymph and/ nerve schwannoma, epidermoidoma, or hemangio- or CSF that can occur at stapedial surgery, but is ma (23). However, in the appropriate clinical sce- never wide enough for a ``gush'' (12). For years, a nario of recurrent meningitis or CSF otorhinorrhea, wide cochlear aqueduct has been frequently cited as the presence of an enlarged labyrinthine facial a cause of spontaneous CSF ®stula, but under close nerve canal and enlarged geniculate fossa strongly scrutiny, never satisfactorily documented (2, 11, 13). suggests a CSF ®stula through the proximal facial Recently, Veillon published CT scans quite sugges- nerve canal. The diagnosis may be further strength- tive of such a case (14). If the ®stula enters the mid- ened by the MR imaging ®nding of CSF intensity dle ear cavity through the cochlear aqueduct and exits in the enlarged geniculate fossa, as in case 2. Ad- through the round or oval window, it should be ministration of intrathecal contrast material can be classi®ed as translabyrinthine. obviated in such situations. Spontaneous perilabyrinthine ®stulas may also be acquired. These are most likely caused by arach- References noid granulations remote from dural sinuses pitting 1. Gacek RR, Leipzig B. Congenital cerebrospinal otorrhea. Ann and eroding the petromastoid temporal bone (15, Otol 1979;88:358±365 16). Fistulization through the tegmen or the pos- 2. Phelps PD. Congenital cerebrospinal ¯uid ®stulae of the petrous temporal bone. Clin Otolaryngol 1986;11:79±92 terior petromastoid wall may enter petrous apical 3. May JS, Mikus JL, Matthews BL, Browne JD. Spontaneous ce- or mastoid air cells (17±19). rebrospinal ¯uid otorrhea from defects of the temporal bone: Our two cases of spontaneous ®stulas were due a rare entity? Am J Otol 1995;16:765±771 4.