Purpose. Assessment of the MSCT role in cholesteatoma staging of the middle ear in patients with chronic otitis media.

Materials and methods. MSCT was performed in 40 patients with chronic otitis media. The average age was 30.6±2.28. In 17(42.5%) of patients a bilateral process was revealed, in 23 (57.5%) of them one-sided, whereas 57 temporal bones were examined. All patients underwent MSCT studies.

On MSCT involvement of the ossicles, structures of the middle ear, spreading of cholesteatoma into surrounding structures, the presence or absence of extra- and intracranial complications were evaluated according to SOM CLEFT scoring and staging system for cholesteatoma proposed by Ramadan H. Sayed, Mahmood A. Hamed, Seiichi Nakata, which was published in the journal Experiments in Rhinology and Otolaryngology (2018).

Results. According to the MSCT data, 4 patients were found to have non-invasive (0, I stages) middle ear cholesteatoma, when the process was confined to the tympanic cavity, with scutum erosions and /or the ossicles without extension into the surrounding structures of the temporal bone (mastoid сells, external auditory canal, inner ear and facial nerve canal).

In the remaining 38 cases, invasive II, III, IV stages of cholesteatoma was detected, when it spread outside the middle ear cavity, with erosion of the mastoid cells, the walls of the facial nerve canal, external auditory canal, sigmoid sinus plate, inner ear structures, with development intracranial complications.

Conclusion. The SOM CLEFT scoring and staging system for cholesteatoma (Ramadan H. Sayed, Mahmood A. Hamed, Seiichi Nakata), in our opinion, is an objective, comprehensive, simple system for assessing all types of cholesteatoma. This staging system of cholesteatoma can help to choose the type of surgery.