Auditory monitoring during acoustic neuroma removal.
Preservation of hearing has become attainable for patients with small acoustic neuromas. Brain-stem auditory evoked response was monitored intraoperatively in 60 patients undergoing acoustic neuroma surgery via the posterior fossa approach. The overall rate of hearing preservation was 30% in the monitored group and 20% in 60 patients who were matched for tumor size and preoperative hearing level and underwent the same surgical procedure but without intraoperative brain-stem auditory evoked response monitoring. The rate of hearing preservation was correlated with tumor size: with tumors less than or equal to 1 cm, hearing was preserved in 82% of monitored and 36% of unmonitored patients; hearing was not preserved with tumors larger than 3 cm. Intraoperative brain-stem auditory evoked response monitoring appears to have improved the preservation of hearing during removal of small tumors.
Slavit
D H
DH
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
Harner
S G
SG
Harper
C M
CM
Beatty
C W
CW
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001299:Audiometry; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016343:Monitoring, Intraoperative; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies