• S Tsiouvaka, I Papadopoulou, V Lachanas, P Koltsidopoulos, and C Skoulakis.
• ENT Department, University Hospital of Larissa, Larissa, Greece.
• Hippokratia. 2017 Oct 1; 21 (4): 201-203.

BackgroundNeuroendocrine adenoma of the middle ear (NAME) is a rare benign glandular tumor with neuroendocrine differentiation arising from the middle ear mucosa. The common symptoms and clinical findings of this tumor are usually non-specific. When the tumor appears as a reddish retrotympanic mass, it can be misdiagnosed to be a paraganglioma.Case DescriptionA 38-year-old male presented with a 12-month history of left ear ​​fullness and tinnitus. Otoscopy revealed a reddish retrotympanic mass with an intact tympanic membrane. The imaging demonstrated a soft tissue mass adjacent to the eardrum and the ossicles, compatible with a paraganglioma. The mass was surgically removed through a posterior tympanotomy. The histological and immunohistochemical examination showed the specimen to be a neuroendocrine adenoma. Four years after the operation, the patient remains without any sign of recurrence.ConclusionNAME is a rare tumor, mimicking tympanic paraganglioma, while its final diagnosis is only provided by histological and immunohistochemical analysis. HIPPOKRATIA 2017, 21(4): 201-203.

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