Acoustic neuroma symptoms

Before deciding on the type of treatment you want, ensure that you know all your options. We recommend that you start with the treatment options page.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs this page is for patients who are contemplating surgery. Other pages explore radiation treatments and wait & watch options.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs you are strongly advised to read them all before making any decision.

Key in the decision making process is determining the best type of surgery for an individual situation.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs ultimately the question is, "what should I do?" and "how do I decide what to do?" oftentimes, it ends up that the surgery decision is limited by circumstances.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs it is our hope that this page will help assist you in forming the right decision in coordination with the medical advice obtained through consultation.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs

AN surgery requires exceptional care and precision and it is recommended to choose a surgeon with experience of at least 100 surgeries using the same technique, on a regular basis, recently, and with good outcome statistics.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs choosing the correct medical professional and facility is critical in obtaining the best outcome. It may require travel outside of your immediate local area.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs A study conducted by wiet et al, concluded that tumor size and the surgeon's experience are the most significant factors influencing the facial nerve status and hearing outcome after acoustic neuroma removal.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs

When selecting a physician, request statistics relative to his/her own patient outcomes rather than general industry standards.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs request the number of operations performed using the type of surgery you are considering. For example, if the surgeon indicates that he/she has performed 500 surgeries, request a breakdown by surgery type.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs it may be that the majority of operating experience is with translab, which may not be the right choice if you are considering middle fossa.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs

The 3 different surgical approaches have different goals. They are discussed in detail below, but basically translabyrinthine surgery, which is the oldest approach, sacrifices hearing in the AN ear, while making it easier to avoid damage to the facial nerve.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs advances in technology and surgical tools make both facial nerve preservation and hearing preservation a reasonable expectation in some patients undergoing the retrosigmoid approach, (also known as suboccipital), and the middle fossa approach.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs mainly this includes the ability to monitor the facial and hearing nerves during the surgery and the use of sophisticated surgical tools.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs when damage to the facial nerve is feared, a technique called "debulking" is increasingly considered. This is a partial removal of the tumor that may be followed up with radiation treatment in case of regrowth.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs

The oldest surgical approach is translabryinthine. This procedure provides the best line of sight of the facial nerve and consequently offers the highest success rate of facial nerve preservation for a patient.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs the downside is that this procedure sacrifices an individual's hearing. It should only be selected when a person has severe hearing loss or the tumor is too large for hearing preservation surgery.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs translab is the preferred surgical

This approach will be used to attempt hearing preservation. Statistics show that the better the hearing one has ahead of the operation the better the chances of good hearing preservation.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs the location of the tumor on the superior nerve vs. The inferior nerve is better. The HEI website states that " in patients with small tumors who have been operated by the middle fossa approach since 1992., good hearing has been preserved in roughly two thirds of those patients.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs any measurable level of hearing was preserved in 80%." it has higher hearing preservation rates for tumors under 2 cm than retrosigmoid.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs from the HEI website, it states that: " 95% of 380 patients undergoing MF maintained excellent facial nerve function.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs only five percent suffered minor weakness of facial nerve function."

Periodically questions surface about endoscopy and mention here should not be taken as an endorsement.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs this technique claims to be minimally invasive creating a dime-sized incision behind the ear. A leading center for this type of surgery is the cedars-sinai skull base institute.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs hrayr K. Shahinian, MD, the director, is a trained plastic and reconstructive surgeon with fellowships in skull base surgery and in craniofacial surgery.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs some criticism has been leveled against this doctor because he is not a trained neurosurgeon. Before choosing this treatment, much investigation should be done checking references and data.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs there has been conversation on the ANA listserv that did not instill confidence. Note that the institute claims to have articles

acoustic neuroma symptoms signs

To get an idea of the statistical chances of morbidity (harm) and mortality after AN surgery, the best is to read detailed medical reports such as: management of 1000 acoustic neuromas: surgical management and results with an emphasis on complications and how to avoid them by madjid samii, M.D., cordula matthies, M.D.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs dr samii is a world renowned AN surgeon who operates in germany. On the one hand, he is among the best AN surgeons in the world, and so his results are expected to be better than less experienced surgeons.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs on the other hand, this report was written in 1997 and covers operations between 1978 and 1993, so an operation carried out today by an equally skilled surgeon would yield better results because of improved techniques.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs also, well known surgeons take on more difficult cases.

• balance problems. Balance problems frequently occur with acoustic neuromas, both before and after treatment.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs these tumors are also called vestibular schwannomas because they arise from the sheath of the vestibular nerve which plays an important role in the body's balance system.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs it may be necessary to cut the vestibular nerve during surgery, or it can be damaged in the process of removing the tumor.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs in most cases balance problems will be temporary as other balance mechanisms in the body take over and compensate.

• CSF leaks.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs cerebrospinal fluid, CSF, circulates around the brain and spinal cord as the name suggests. It is constantly produced and recirculated.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs if it's flow is inhibited excess pressure on the brain can result (see 'hydrocephalus' below). Following open skull surgery there can be, in less than 5% of cases, leaks of CSF, through the nose or the ears or, in rare cases, from the surgical incision.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs if they do occur, a second operation may be necessary to stop the leak.

• death. Death on the operating table, or as a direct result of the operation, is no longer a major problem.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs improvements in surgical technique over the last 30 years have an enormous difference in the likelihood of operating mortality for acoustic neuroma patients.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs it is estimated now that less than 1% of AN patients treated by competent surgeons will die as a result of the operation.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs

• weakness of the face because the acoustic tumors are in intimate contact with the facial nerve, temporary weakness of the face due to nerve swelling is common.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs facial weakness may last for six months to a year. In some cases there may be permanent facial weakness. According to HEI, in 1-2% of the cases it is necessary to remove all or a portion of the facial nerve in order to remove the tumor.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs in some instances it is possible to reconnect the facial nerve during the surgery. When it is not possible to repair the facial nerve during the surgery, a further surgery may be necessary to substitute another nerve.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs in 1985 a scale called the house brackmann scale was developed to rate the degrees of facial weakness. It is the most commonly used scale to date.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs

• hearing loss. Hearing loss varies depending on the type of surgical approach. Translab always results in hearing loss. With the others there are prognostic factors that give some predictive outcome.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs tumor size is not necessarily a predictor. Tumors originating from the superior vestibular nerve have a greater chance of hearing preservation than those arising from the inferior vestibular nerve.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs those that do not extend all the way to the end of the internal auditory canal are more favorable for hearing preservation.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs better preoperative hearing in general correlates with hearing preservation. Preoperative audiometric brainstem response testing data is of value with shorter intr-aural wave and absolute V latencies related to ncresed probable hearing preservation.Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs house ear institute states that 20-30% of patients develop total hearing loss in the operated ear.

Acoustic neuroma symptoms signs