Waching daily May 3 2018

Mastoid surgery is performed by removing the hollow bone behind the ear.

The procedure begins by making an incision and retracting the ear forward to expose the

mastoid bone surface.

The honeycomb partitions of the mastoid bone are then drilled away down to where it connects

to the middle ear.

There are important structures that are preserved during the process including:

Semicircular canals which are responsible for inner ear balance.

The bone that separates the brain from the middle ear and mastoid

The sigmoid sinus which is a large blood vessel which connects to the jugular vein in the

neck.

Chorda tympani nerve which supplies sense of taste to the tongue.

And finally the facial nerve which is responsible for facial movements.

This would be the extent of a basic simple mastoidectomy.

Occasionally, the facial recess may be dissected out as shown here.

An even more aggressive mastoid surgery may be required should a type of ear cyst called

a cholesteatoma be the reason that the surgery is performed

In rare situations the wall separating the ear canal and mastoid cavity is removed to

eradicate ear disease.

The eardrum and middle ear bones may even be removed.