Cholesteatoma

What it means

Cholesteatoma is a benign but potentially destructive growth consisting of keratinizing epithelium located in the middle ear and/or mastoid process. In cholesteatoma, a skin cyst grows into the middle ear and mastoid. The cyst is not cancerous but can erode tissue and cause destruction of the ear.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category