Hearing Preservation Surgery in the Sitting Position for Grade 3B Hannover Classification Vestibular Schwannoma: 3-Dimensional Operative Video

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devon O’Donnell ◽  
Amir R Dehdashti

Abstract Surgical treatment of large vestibular schwannomas is challenging. Both facial and cochlear nerves should be preserved in patients who have no neurological deficit preoperatively. In this 3-dimensional video, we present a 35-yr-old patient who presented with documented increase in the size of a known vestibular schwannoma over the span of 3 yr. Surgery was favored among all treatment options due to his young age and the tumor size. Informed consent was obtained. Semisitting surgery allowed for bimanual microdissection of the tumor capsule from the surrounding arachnoid and cranial nerves with 2 micro dissectors. The precision of microdissection is enhanced in the sitting position. Facial nerve stimulation remained stable at 0.05 mA. The auditory evoked potential remained unchanged during the surgery. Complete resection of the tumor and preservation of facial and cochlear nerves was achieved. The patient had a stable hearing grade B and a normal facial nerve function at 3-mo follow-up.

Neurosurgery ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Walter Kutz ◽  
Tyler Scoresby ◽  
Brandon Isaacson ◽  
Bruce E. Mickey ◽  
Christopher J. Madden ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND: The incidence of small vestibular schwannomas in patients with serviceable hearing is increasing because of the widespread use of MRI. The middle fossa approach provides the patient with an opportunity for tumor removal with hearing preservation. OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of hearing preservation and facial nerve outcomes after removal of a vestibular schwannoma with the use of the middle fossa approach. METHODS: A retrospective case review at a tertiary, academic medical center was performed identifying patients from 1998 through 2008 that underwent removal of a vestibular schwannoma by the middle fossa approach. Preoperative and postoperative audiograms were compared to determine hearing preservation rates. In addition, facial nerve outcomes at last follow-up were recorded. RESULTS: Forty-six patients underwent a middle fossa craniotomy for the removal of a vestibular schwannoma. Of the 38 patients that had class A or class B hearing preoperatively, 24 (63.2%) retained class A or B hearing and 29 (76.3%) retained class A, B, or C hearing. When tumors were 10 mm or less in patients with class A or B preoperative hearing, 22 of 30 patients (73.3%) retained class A or B hearing. When the tumor size was greater than 10 mm in patients with class A or B preoperative hearing, 2 of 8 patients (25%) retained class A or B hearing. At most recent follow-up, 76.1% of patients had House-Brackmann grade I facial function, 13.0% had House-Brackmann grade II facial function, and 10.9% had House-Brackmann grade III facial function. CONCLUSION: Hearing preservation rates are excellent using the middle fossa approach, especially for smaller tumors. No patient experienced long-term facial nerve function worse than House-Brackmann grade III.


2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. E9 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Samy Youssef ◽  
Angela E. Downes

Object Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring has become an integral part of vestibular schwannoma surgery. The aim of this article was to review the different techniques of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring in vestibular schwannoma surgery, identify the clinical impact of certain pathognomonic patterns on postoperative outcomes of facial nerve function and hearing preservation, and highlight the role of postoperative medications in improving delayed cranial nerve dysfunction in the different reported series. Methods The authors performed a review of the literature regarding intraoperative monitoring in acoustic/vestibular schwannoma surgery. The different clinical series representing different monitoring techniques were reviewed. All the data from clinical series were analyzed in a comprehensive and comparative model. Results Intraoperative brainstem auditory evoked potential monitoring, direct cochlear nerve action potential monitoring, and facial nerve electromyography are the main tools used to assess the functional integrity of an anatomically intact cranial nerve. The identification of pathognomonic brainstem auditory evoked potential and electromyography patterns has been correlated with postoperative functional outcome. Recently, perioperative administration of intravenous hydroxyethyl starch and nimodipine as vasoactive and neuroprotective agents was shown to improve vestibular schwannoma functional outcome in few reported studies. Conclusions Recent advances in electrophysiological technology have considerably contributed to improvement in functional outcome of vestibular neuroma surgery in terms of hearing preservation and facial nerve paresis. Perioperative intravenous nimodipine and hydroxyethyl starch may be valuable additions to surgery.


2018 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kareem O. Tawfik ◽  
Zoe A. Walters ◽  
Gavriel D. Kohlberg ◽  
Noga Lipschitz ◽  
Joseph T. Breen ◽  
...  

Objectives: Assess the utility of intraoperative transcranial facial motor-evoked potential (FMEP) monitoring in predicting and improving facial function after vestibular schwannoma (VS) resection. Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Methods: Data were obtained from 82 consecutive VS resections meeting inclusion criteria. Sixty-two cases were performed without FMEP and 20 with FMEP. Degradation of FMEP response was defined as a final-to-baseline amplitude ratio of 0.5 or less. House-Brackmann (HB) grade was assessed preoperatively, postoperatively, at follow-up assessments, and it was compared between pre- and post-FMEP cohorts. Positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV), sensitivity, and specificity of FMEP degradation in predicting facial weakness were calculated. Results: In the pre-FMEP group, at length of follow-up (LOF) ⩾9 months, 83.9% (52/62) of patients exhibited HB 1-2 outcome. In the post-FMEP cohort, 75.0% (15/20) exhibited HB 1-2 function at LOF ⩾9 months. There was no difference in rates of HB 1-2 outcomes between groups in the immediate postoperative period ( P = .35) or at long-term follow-up ( P = 1.0). With respect to predicting immediate postoperative facial function, FMEP demonstrated high specificity (88.9%) and moderate sensitivity (54.5%). The PPV and NPV for immediate postoperative facial function were 85.7% and 61.5%, respectively. With respect to long-term (⩾9 months LOF) facial function, intraoperative FMEP was moderately sensitive (71.4%) and highly specific (84.6%); PPV was moderate (71.4%), and NPV was high (84.6%). Conclusions: Intraoperative FMEP is highly specific and moderately sensitive in predicting postoperative facial function for patients undergoing VS resection, but its use may not be associated with improved facial nerve outcomes. Level of Evidence: 4


2018 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc S. Schwartz ◽  
Gregory P. Lekovic ◽  
Mia E. Miller ◽  
William H. Slattery ◽  
Eric P. Wilkinson

OBJECTIVETranslabyrinthine resection is one of a number of treatment options available to patients with vestibular schwannomas. Though this procedure is hearing destructive, the authors have noted excellent clinical outcomes for patients with small tumors. The authors review their experience at a tertiary acoustic neuroma referral center in using the translabyrinthine approach to resect small vestibular schwannomas. All operations were performed by a surgical team consisting of a single neurosurgeon and 1 of 7 neurotologists.METHODSData from a prospectively maintained clinical database were extracted and reviewed. Consecutive patients with a preoperative diagnosis of vestibular schwannoma that had less than 1 cm of extension into the cerebellopontine angle, operated on between 2008 and 2013, were included. Patents with neurofibromatosis Type 2, previous treatment, or preexisting facial weakness were excluded. In total, 107 patients were identified, 74.7% of whom had poor hearing preoperatively.RESULTSPathologically, 6.5% of patients were found to have a tumor other than vestibular schwannoma. Excluding two malignancies, the tumor control rates were 98.7%, as defined by absence of radiographic disease, and 99.0%, as defined by no need for additional treatment. Facial nerve outcome was normal (House-Brackmann Grade I) in 97.2% of patients and good (House-Brackmann Grade I–II) in 99.1%. Complications were cerebrospinal fluid leak (4.7%) and sigmoid sinus thrombosis (0.9%), none of which led to long-term sequelae.CONCLUSIONSTranslabyrinthine resection of small vestibular schwannomas provides excellent results in terms of complication avoidance, tumor control, and facial nerve outcomes. This is a hearing-destructive operation that is advocated for selected patients.


Author(s):  
Tiit Mathiesen ◽  
Petter Förander ◽  
David Pettersson

Sporadic vestibular schwannoma (VS) is the commonest tumour of the cerebellopontine angle and comprise 6–8% of all intracranial tumours. The incidence varies between 12 and 20 cases per million inhabitants and years in different reports; a large minority of these tumours grow during follow-up. Treatment options include wait and scan, microsurgery, radiosurgery, and radiotherapy. Micro- and radiosurgery are well validated to offer long-term tumour control, but patients may suffer from hearing deficit and facial nerve paresis. Unexpectedly, long-term life quality is more affected by vertigo and headaches. Other cranial nerve schwannomas cause symptoms depending on the affected nerves and respond to the same therapies when treatment is indicated.


2007 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 2087-2092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Jacob ◽  
Lawrence L. Robinson ◽  
Jared S. Bortman ◽  
Lianbo Yu ◽  
Edward E. Dodson ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Baschnagel ◽  
Peter Y. Chen ◽  
Dennis Bojrab ◽  
Daniel Pieper ◽  
Jack Kartush ◽  
...  

Object Hearing loss after Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) in patients with vestibular schwannoma has been associated with radiation dose to the cochlea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate serviceable hearing preservation in patients with VS who were treated with GKS and to determine if serviceable hearing loss can be correlated with the dose to the cochlea. Methods Forty patients with vestibular schwannoma with serviceable hearing were treated using GKS with a median marginal dose of 12.5 Gy (range 12.5–13 Gy) to the 50% isodose volume. Audiometry was performed prospectively before and after GKS at 1, 3, and 6 months, and then every 6 months thereafter. Hearing preservation was based on pure tone average (PTA) and speech discrimination (SD). Serviceable hearing was defined as PTA less than 50 dB and SD greater than 50%. Results The median cochlear maximum and mean doses were 6.9 Gy (range 1.6–16 Gy) and 2.7 Gy (range 0.7–5.0 Gy), respectively. With a median audiological follow-up of 35 months (range 6–58 months), the 1-, 2-, and 3-year actuarial rates of maintaining serviceable hearing were 93%, 77%, and 74%, respectively. No patient who received a mean cochlear dose less than 2 Gy experienced serviceable hearing loss (p = 0.035). Patients who received a mean cochlear dose less than 3 Gy had a 2-year hearing preservation rate of 91% compared with 59% in those who received a mean cochlear dose of 3 Gy or greater (p = 0.029). Those who had more than 25% of their cochlea receiving 3 Gy or greater had a higher rate of hearing loss (p = 0.030). There was no statistically significant correlation between serviceable hearing loss and age, tumor size, pre-GKS PTA, pre-GKS SD, pre-GKS Gardner-Robertson class, maximum cochlear dose, or the percentage of cochlear volume receiving 5 Gy. On multivariate analysis there was a trend toward significance for serviceable hearing loss with a mean cochlear dose of 3 Gy or greater (p = 0.074). Local control was 100% at 24 months. No patient developed facial or trigeminal nerve dysfunction. Conclusions With a median mean cochlear dose of 2.7 Gy, the majority of patients with serviceable hearing retained serviceable hearing 3 years after GKS. A mean cochlear dose less than 3 Gy was associated with higher serviceable hearing preservation.


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