Temporal bone fractures in children.

Fifty children with temporal bone fractures were treated during a 40-month period. The diagnosis and management of temporal bone fractures in children is reviewed. The author's cases are classified as to longitudinal and transverse fractures, and the figures are presented for age distribution, sex, cause, loss of consciousness, CSF otorrhea, hearing loss, permanent tympanic membrane perforations, and facial nerve involvement. The author has followed a conservative method of management. Permanent impairment was not frequent, although all the patients with transverse fractures suffered total loss of hearing in the involved ear.