Cholesteatoma Surgery

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well! My family and I started this page to help my 21 year old niece, Cynthia Salas. She was recently diagnosed with a Cholesteatoma in her ear and will require 2-3 surgeries beginning in June to have it removed. She has insurance, thankfully, but there are several costs associated with the surgery and we humbly reach out to our friends and family for support.

First, I would like to give you some information regarding what a cholesteatoma is, how it has affected her life and why she needs to have surgery.

A cholesteatoma is a collection or mass of protein our body makes called keratin. It develops in the middle ear or mastoid (part of the skull that is directly behind the ear) and is usually due to chronic ear infections as a child. Chronic ear infections in children can be caused by Eustachian tube defects (the tubes that allow fluid from the inner ear to drain), and the doctor believes this is the root cause of her cholesteatoma. The infections caused inflammation in the area and eventually lead to the affected tissue becoming keratinized (like scar tissue).  Over the years, the bones around and in her ear have become eroded, which has lead to significant hearing loss, pain, discharge, and she has to carefully position her head while sleeping to avoid causing further discomfort. According to the surgeon, the mass is very close to the brain, and in order to prevent any further complications, they need to perform the surgery relatively soon. Because of the severity of the bone loss and the location they may need more than the two surgeries. If she does not have the surgeries, the mass could extend into the brain tissue and cause even more irreparable damage.

At this point, there is very little hope to repair the damage that has already been done, meaning, she will have to deal with hearing loss for the rest of her life. That being said, we do have full confidence in the surgeon and believe this with stop the progression of the hearing loss and pain associated with it.

Cynthia has her whole life ahead of her, and we want to ensure that due to these health complications, she is not inundated with the financial burdens that come with it. We ask that you contribute what you can in order to help pay for the insurance deductible, co-payments and medications she will require. She will also not be able to work for several weeks following each surgery which only adds to an already difficult situation.

Thank you for taking the time to read Cynthia’s story. We truly appreciate you!!!

From the bottom of our hearts,

The Salas, Jimenez and Lopez families