Two cases of papillomas of the external ear canal

Neoplasms arising from the external ear present with diverse histological features. Papillomas are seldom found in the external ear canal. Herein, we report two cases diagnosed as having external ear canal papilloma. The first case was a 77-year-old female patient, in whom a papillomatous lesion was found filling the left ear canal. The tumor was treated by CO₂ laser ablation. The second case was a 60-year-old female patient. An exophytic papillomatous lesion was found on the anterior wall of the left ear canal. In this case, the root of the exophytic lesion was ablated with CO₂ laser. No recurrence has been detected in either case. CO₂ laser ablation is an effective treatment modality for papilloma. HPV is presumed as being the cause of papillomas. We analyzed the subtypes of HPV by PCR, however, no HPV DNA was detected in the specimens obtained from either case.