A review of operations on the temporal bone.

The majority of temporal bone operations are performed for treatment of acute or chronic middle ear and mastoid infection, otosclerosis and perforations of the tympanic membrane.Far from being a thing of the past, temporal bone surgery is an expanding field in the antibiotic age.Since treatment with antibiotics may temporarily allay the symptoms of serious disease of the ear, great care must be taken in examination of patients with a suspicious history.