ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Imaging
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvances in Veterinary 3D Modeling: Applications of CT, MRI, and Scanning TechnologiesView all 12 articles
Feline Inflammatory Aural Polyps: A Retrospective Imaging-Based Evaluation
Provisionally accepted
Alper DEMİRUTKU
Eylem BEKTAŞ BİLGİÇ*- Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Türkiye
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Feline inflammatory aural polyps are common inflammatory lesions of the middle ear in cats and may cause otic, vestibular, and neurological clinical signs. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate signalment, clinical presentation, lesion localization, diagnostic imaging findings, and surgical management in cats diagnosed with inflammatory aural polyps. Medical records of 154 cats diagnosed between 2019 and 2024 at a university veterinary hospital were reviewed. Data regarding age, sex, breed, clinical signs, diagnostic imaging modalities, lesion characteristics, and surgical techniques were analyzed. Video otoscopy, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging were used for diagnostic evaluation. Most cats were adults aged 2–7 years, and no sex predisposition was identified. In 98.45% of cats, inflammatory polyps involved both the dorsolateral and ventromedial compartments of the middle ear. Ventral bulla ostectomy, performed alone or in combination with traction avulsion, was the most frequently applied surgical technique, and no recurrence was observed in cats treated with ventral bulla ostectomy. Bilateral involvement was observed in 51.1% of cases and unilateral involvement in 48.8%, with no statistically significant association between lesion laterality and age or breed. These findings indicate that feline inflammatory aural polyps may present as either unilateral or bilateral disease and frequently exhibit multicompartmental involvement. Multimodal imaging plays a crucial role in accurate diagnosis and surgical planning, and imaging-guided, individualized surgical management is strongly recommended.
Keywords: computed tomography, feline inflammatory aural polyps, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Middle ear disease, traction avulsion, ventral bulla ostectomy
Received: 30 Dec 2025; Accepted: 03 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 DEMİRUTKU and BEKTAŞ BİLGİÇ. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Eylem BEKTAŞ BİLGİÇ
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