Surgical Outcomes of Cerebellopontine angle Tumors in 50 Cases

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: To report our experience with a large series of surgical procedures for removal of cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors using different approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 50 patients (mean age, 49 years) with CPA tumors (predominantly acoustic neuroma) who underwent surgical removal using appropriate techniques (principally a translabyrinthine approach) during a 4-year period. RESULTS: One death occurred during this study. There were nine cases (18) of cerebrospinal fluid leak, and five patients (10) were diagnosed as having bacterial meningitis. Complete gross tumor removal was not achieved in four patients (8). Facial nerve function as measured by the House Brackmann system was recorded in all patients 1 year following surgery: 32 had a score of 1 or 2; 26 had a score of 3 or 4; and 8 had a score of 5 or 6. Other complications included four cases of wound infection. CONCLUSION: The translabyrinthine approach was predominantly used in our series of CPA tumors, and complication rates were comparable with other large case series.