Surgical Management of Acoustic Neuromas

Objective To summarize the experience in surgically resecting 104 cases of acoustic neuromas in order to improve the therapeutic effects of surgery on acoustic neuromas. Methods The acoustic neuromas were definitely diagnosed by CT or MRI scanning in 104 patients. All the tumors were removed by microsurgery through suboccipital retrosigmoid approach. Results Of 104 patients with acoustic neuromas, 89 received total resection of the tumors and 15 subtotal or greatly partial. Two patients died after the surgery. The anatomic preservation of facial nerve and acoustic nerve was achieved respectively in 89 cases (85.58%) and 25 cases (24.04%). The hearing in 7 patients(6.73%) was preserved or improved. Conclusions The size of the acoustic neuromas was closely related to the rate of total removal of the tumors and the preservative rates of facial nerve and acoustic nerve. The key to improving the surgical effects on acoustic neuromas are skillful microsurgical technique and idea of preservation of nervous function.