Differential Diagnoses

Workup

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Media Gallery

Diagram of the normal tympanic membrane anatomy.
Healthy tympanic membrane.
Acute otitis media with purulent effusion behind a bulging tympanic membrane.
Chronic otitis media with a retraction pocket of the pars flaccida.
Cholesteatoma of the pars flaccida.
Central/pars tensa tympanic membrane perforation with a healthy middle ear membrane.
Central/pars tensa tympanic membrane perforation with a tympanostomy tube in place.
Various tympanostomy tube styles and sizes.
Initial presentation of a young girl with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
Acute coalescent mastoiditis with a Bezold abscess in a young girl who presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
A young girl who presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections on the operating table for mastoidectomy and drainage of Bezold abscess.
Aspirating pus from the Bezold abscess for Gram staining, culturing, and sensitivity testing in a young girl who presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
Surgical incision to aspirate pus in a young girl who presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
Freer elevator demonstrating extension of an abscess cavity from the mastoid into the neck in a young girl who presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
Incision is closed and a drain is placed in the abscess cavity in a young girl who presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
Postoperative bandage in a young girl who presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
The wound now appears clean and dry on postoperative day 4. This young girl initially presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.
Postoperative day 4: Mom is smiling. This young girl initially presented with chronic right ear pain and multiple untreated middle ear infections.

of 18

Author

Muhammad Waseem, MBBS, MS, FAAP, FACEP, FAHA Professor of Emergency Medicine and Clinical Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medical College; Attending Physician, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center; Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics, St George's University School of Medicine, Grenada

Muhammad Waseem, MBBS, MS, FAAP, FACEP, FAHA is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Urgent Care Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, Association of Clinical Research Professionals, Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, Society for Simulation in Healthcare

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Muhammad Aslam, MD Professor of Pediatrics, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine; Neonatologist, Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, UC Irvine Medical Center

Muhammad Aslam, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Mary L Windle, PharmD Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Alan D Murray, MD Pediatric Otolaryngologist, ENT for Children; Full-Time Staff, Medical City Dallas Children's Hospital; Consulting Staff, Department of Otolaryngology, Children's Medical Center at Dallas, Cook Children's Medical Center; Full-Time Staff, Texas Pediatric Surgery Center, Cook Children's Pediatric Surgery Center Plano

Alan D Murray, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Society for Ear, Nose and Throat Advances in Children, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Surgeons, Texas Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Ravindhra G Elluru, MD, PhD Professor, Wright State University, Boonshoft School of Medicine; Pediatric Otolaryngologist, Department of Otolaryngology, Dayton Children's Hospital Medical Center

Ravindhra G Elluru, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Bronchoesophagological Association, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, Association for Research in Otolaryngology, Society for Ear, Nose and Throat Advances in Children, Triological Society, American Society for Cell Biology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgements

Orval Brown, MD Director of Otolaryngology Clinic, Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Orval Brown, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Bronchoesophagological Association, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology, Society for Ear, Nose and Throat Advances in Children, and Society of University Otolaryngologists-Head and Neck Surgeons

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Michael Jones, MD Consulting Staff, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

David Malis, MD Assistant Chief, Otolaryngology Service, Brooke Army Medical Center, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Leslie A Wilson, MD Chief, Well-Baby Clinic and Chronic Ear Clinic, Department of Pediatrics, Wilford Hall Air Force Medical Center

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.