management
Last reviewed 01/2018
In addition to the standard management of any head injury, there are special considerations for temporal bone fractures:
- CSF otorrhoea and rhinorrhoea will settle spontaneously, though occasionally surgery may be necessary.
- facial nerve exploration and microneural repair may be necessary and ossiculoplasty may be required to restore hearing.
- persistent vertigo may suggest a perilymph leak.
- patients suspected of having a temporal bone fracture should not have their ears syringed.