Hearing restoration in posterior fossa tumors.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to assess the results of hearing restoration with a cochlear or a brainstem implant in posterior fossa tumors.


METHODS
Six patients were selected. Two patients with an acoustic neuroma in the only-hearing ear (cases 1 and 2), one patient with a posterior fossa meningioma (case 3), one patient with bilateral facial neuroma (case 4), and two patients with bilateral acoustic neuroma (cases 5 and 6) participated.


METHODS
In cases 1 and 2, the patients had a cochlear implant inserted on the only-hearing ear opposite the acoustic neuroma. In case 3, the patient presented with total deafness on the left side and a 10-mm meningioma on the right side. A cochlear implantation was performed after removal of the meningioma on the right side. In case 4, the patient was operated on on both sides with bilateral postoperative deafness. A cochlear implantation was performed on the better hearing ear. In cases 5 and 6, patients underwent an auditory brainstem implantation after the exeresis of the second tumor.


RESULTS
Promontory test results were positive for patients 1, 2, 3, and 4. After implantation, patients 1, 2, 3, and 4 scored 98%, 13%, 70%, and 30%, respectively, in open-set sentence recognition tests, whereas patients 5 and 6 scored 0% and 20%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
In case of nonfunctional cochlear nerve, in acoustic neuroma, either bilateral and in the only-hearing ear, promontory test should be performed. If positive results, a cochlear implantation should be performed, because successful results could be expected. Overall results of cochlear implantation on speech discrimination are better than those obtained with a brainstem implant.
Shin
Y J
YJ
Department of Otolaryngology, Purpan Hospital, Toulouse, France.
Fraysse
B
B
Sterkers
O
O
Bouccara
D
D
Rey
A
A
Lazorthes
Y
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000601:surgery; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000379:methods*; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior / Q000601:surgery*; D003638:Deafness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008579:Meningioma / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome