Chennai: When Loganathan (54) auditor hailing from Erode was complaining of repeated pulsating sound, he assumed he was living with two hearts. However, it later turned out that it was his brain that began oozing out through ear producing the constant palpitations that bothered him.
“Since the past 10 years, I have been suffering from intense ear ache. I met with an accident in 2010 and succumbed to head injury, post which the ear pain became serious and there was a watery discharge,” said Loganathan.
The doctors at Erode suspected Hepatitis B and he was referred to Apollo Speciality Hospital at OMR.
Addressing a press conference here Tuesday, Apollo Speciality Hospital Head of Department – ENT, Dr Krishnakumar said, “We identified a pink, pulsatile, soft, insensitive mass, which did not bleed on touch filling the external auditory canal. A CT scan and a brain MRI revealed a huge hole in the upper wall of the inner ear through which a small portion of the brain’s temporal lobe was prolapsing out.”
Surgical intervention was sought immediately after detection and we performed an eight-hour ‘split bone graft’ to seal the hole to prevent the leakage.
Explaining about the procedure, hospital’s neuro surgeon and interventionalist senior consultant Dr Joy Varghese said, ‘The skull is made of two layers. We split and used the inner soft layer to block the opening.’
| Think twice before using ear buds |
| Apollo doctors emphasised on how using ear buds to remove wax can be harmful. “The cotton buds pushes the ear wax further in and pushing the bud inside can lead to breaking of delicate bone, thus leading to severe conditions. The ear wax elimination happens naturally and using a foreign object would harm the patient’s health,” said Dr Krishnakumar. |