Benign osteoblastoma of the temporal bone: case report and review of the literature

BackgroundBenign osteoblastoma arising from the temporal bone is extremely rare in elderly patients. We reviewed the literature on benign osteoblastoma of the temporal bone and now propose a new classification of this pathologic entity based on its anatomical location in the temporal bone.Case DescriptionA 68-year-old woman presented with tinnitus and hearing disturbance with a duration of 1 year. Her neurologic examination revealed mixed hearing disturbance and hypogeusia. Preoperative computed tomography showed a bony destructive isodensity mass with calcified component involving the temporal bone. The FDG-PET scan showed high uptake on the lesion. After preoperative embolization on the day before surgery, the patient underwent tumor removal via a left infratemporal approach under neuronavigated guidance. The pathologic examination revealed a benign osteoblastoma.ConclusionWe present the first case of FDG-PET showing high uptake on the lesion. Preoperative embolization is useful to reduce the amount of bleeding during the surgery.