Derlacki and Clemis Criteria for Congenital Cholesteatoma

The Derlacki and Clemis criteria (1965) is used to identify cases of congenital cholesteatoma and to differentiate them from acquired cholesteatoma.¹
It has now been largely replaced by Levenson’s Criteria² (1986) as the preferred diagnostic criteria for congenital cholesteatoma.
Derlacki and Clemis Criteria (1965)
1. An embryonic rest of epithelial tissue in the ear
2. No prior history of tympanic membrane perforation
3. No prior history of ear infection.

Derlacki, Eugene L., and Jack D. Clemis. “LX congenital cholesteatoma of the middle ear and mastoid.” Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology 74.3 (1965): 706-727. ↩
Levenson, Mark J., et al. “A review of twenty congenital cholesteatomas of the middle ear in children.” Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery 94.5 (1986): 560-567. ↩

Last updated October 11, 2022