RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To compare Ostmann's fat pad (OFP) size between healthy ears and ears with chronic otitis media with cholesteatoma (COMwC) in children, to assess its role in the disease. METHODS: MRI scans of 29 children with unilateral COMwC with conductive hearing loss were used to measure OFP, represented by the maximal diameter of the high intensity area medial to the tensor veli palatini muscle (TVP): M1. A reference diameter was defined from the medial border of OFP reaching the medial border of the medial pterygoid muscle: M2. Values of M1, M2 and the ratio of M1:M2 were compared between the healthy and pathological ear in each patient. RESULTS: No difference in OFP size was observed between healthy (H) ears (mean M1H:M2H ratio 0.72 ± 2.28) compared to ears with COMwC pathology (P) (mean M1P:M2P ratio .68 ± 1.57; P = .943) in children, suggesting that OFP size abnormalities do not have a role in pediatric COMwC. CONCLUSION: OFP size was not correlated to the development of unilateral COMwC in children.