Superficially emerging sigmoid sinus - Case report

It is a rare anatomic variation that a superficially emerging sigmoid sinus presenting via an unusual anterolateral course. This paper reports a 33-year-old woman who was undergoing tympanoplasty for a simple ear drum perforation. A profuse venous bleeding from mastoid surface was encountered unexpectedly when a postauricular subcutaneous incision was made. The bleeding was controlled with Surgicel packing. And the operation was halted in order to further investigate the cause of bleeding. Computed tomographies of the temporal bone which was obtained later showed a superficially emerging sigmoid sinus.