Relationship between the degree of mastoid pneumatization and the presence of persistent foramen of Huschke

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the degree of mastoid pneumatization and the presence of persistent foramen of Huschke (FH). Temporal computed tomography images of 714 patients (1428 ears) who applied to the Otorhinolaryngology Department of Karabuk University Training and Research Hospital between January 2016 and June 2018 were retrospectively analysed. We compared the mastoid pnomatization levels of 95 patients (74 females, 21 males, mean age 53.18 ± 15.09 years) who had persistent FH and 135 patients (103 females, 32 males, mean age 54.29 ± 15.82 years) with no FH who had similar age and gender. FH was found to be unilateral (right: 23, left: 45) in 68 (71.5%) out of 95 patients with FH, and FH was bilateral in 27 (28.4%) patients. The degree of mastoid pnomatization of the patients with FH was significantly higher than the patients without FH ( p  = 0.015). The degree of pneumatization of the mastoid bone may lead to persistent FH by affecting the ossification process of the tympanic segment, which has a close anatomical relationship with it.