Cochlear fossa enhancement at MR evaluation of vestibular Schwannoma: correlation with success at hearing-preservation surgery.
OBJECTIVE
To describe a sign in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that could reflect the state of the cochlear nerve before hearing-preservation surgery in small vestibular schwannomas.


METHODS
Thirty-one patients with serviceable hearing underwent 1.5-T MR imaging before hearing-preservation surgery. The presence of cochlear fossa enhancement on T1-weighted spin-echo images obtained after the administration of contrast material was compared with the results of hearing-preservation surgery.


RESULTS
Cochlear fossa enhancement was present in 13 patients, and all of them had total hearing loss after surgery. There was no cochlear fossa enhancement in 18 patients; 15 maintained serviceable hearing after surgery, and three had postoperative hearing loss with no serviceable hearing (sensitivity, 81%; specificity, 100%).


CONCLUSIONS
Cochlear fossa enhancement on T1-weighted spin-echo images seems to be a reliable sign for analyzing the state of the cochlear nerve. The absence of cochlear fossa enhancement could become an additional criterion for selecting the surgical approach in vestibular schwannomas.
Dubrulle
F
F
Department of Radiology, Hopital Huriez-Sud, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, 1 Place de Verdun, 59037 Lille, France. fdubrulle@caramail.com
Ernst
O
O
Vincent
C
C
Vaneecloo
F M
FM
Lejeune
J P
JP
Lemaitre
L
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D003056:Cochlear Nerve / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003287:Contrast Media; D003638:Deafness / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D018579:Patient Selection; D010579:Petrous Bone / Q000473:pathology; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013067:Speech Perception; D013701:Temporal Bone / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D003287:Contrast Media