Post-traumatic guitar-shaped deformity of the tympanic membrane

We report a unique case of post-traumatic guitar-shaped deformity of the tympanic membrane in an 8-year-old boy. After a traffic accident, he exhibited bleeding from the ear, incomplete facial palsy and a conductive hearing loss on the left side. Although his symptoms gradually improved, the deformity of the tympanic membrane and external auditory canal persisted. The tympanic membrane appeared to be duplicated. Careful examination using an otoscope was required for accurate diagnosis. Without knowledge of the deformity, the physician could easily misinterpret the appearance of the tympanic membrane. Formation of cholesteatoma was not observed and the normal migration of the epithelium in the external auditory canal seemed to be maintained. However, we were concerned that tubal dysfunction could eventually induce the retraction and atrophy of the tympanic membrane to ultimately form a cholesteatoma. We therefore recommend patients such as this to be evaluated periodically because of the risk of tubal dysfunction and cholesteatoma.