Bony sheathed chorda tympani: A unique case of incudomalleolar fixation

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6516514_Bony_sheathed_chorda_tympani_A_unique_case_of_incudomalleolar_fixation
To describe a unilateral conductive hearing loss caused by restriction of the movements of malleus and incus due to chorda tympani in a bony sheath. A 23-year-old man with a stable mild conductive hearing loss in the left ear and mild sensorineural hearing loss in the right ear. An exploratory tympanotomy was performed. Immobility of the ossicles due to a bony structure, which was found to be chorda tympani encircled in a bony sheath. Ossicular system regained its mobility with the severance of the chorda tympani. Hearing was improved both subjectively and audiographically. This is the second case of chorda tympani with a bony sheath and the first case of this pathologic finding affecting both malleus and incus. Bony sheathed chorda tympani is considered to be a congenital anomaly of the chorda tympani that causes incudomalleolar fixation and behaves as posterior bony bars.