Surgical Management of Tegmen Defects of the Temporal Bone and Meningoencephalic Herniation: Our Experience

1.Introduction The tegmental wall of the tympanic cavity is a thin plate of the temporal bone that separates the middle cranial fossa(MCF)from the ear.This anatomical region consists of two areas:an anterior one,comprised of the tegmen tympani(Tóth et al.,2007),and a posterior one,formed by the tegmen antri and the tegmen mastoideum(Makki et al.,2011).In some patients,the tegmental region of the temporal bone can be interrupted,causing a tegmen defect(TD).A TD is some-times associated with a meningoencephalic herniation(MEH),in which brain tissue herniates through a TD.