Glomus faciale: Primary paraganglioma of the facial canal

Primary glomus tumor of the facial canal is a rare entity. We report the glomus tumor originating from the facial nerve, which is the largest intratemporal glomus faciale and the first with demonstration of the pathologic evidences. The patient had an 8-year history of facial fasciculation followed by facial weakness and pulsatile tinnitus. After complete surgical removal of the tumor, the pathologic finding revealed a paraganglioma which was encasing nerve tissues without a penetration into the jugular bulb. Although the incidence is very low, glomus faciale tumor should be considered in the differential diagnosis of progressive facial weakness with pulsatile tinnitus.