osteoid osteoma presenting as a painful solitary skull lesion: a case report

introduction: osteomas are asymptomatic and rare slow growing bony tumors in temporal bone, and should be taken into account in differential diagnosis of the osteolytic solitary skull lesions. sometimes is associated with pain and functional loss. only a few cases have been reported.   case report: we describe a case of an osteoid osteoma of the temporal bone (mastoid) in a 31-year-old woman presenting as painful solitary tumor of calvarium and its management. the resection of whole bony tumor was performed using the retroauricular approach. pathologic evaluation revealed the osteoid osteoma.    conclusion: although osteoid osteoma of the temporal bone is rare, it should be taken into account in differential diagnosis of the osteolytic skull lesions. treatment is indicated for symptomatic osteomas or cosmetic reasons.