Hearing preservation after stereotactic radiosurgery for bilateral cerebellopontine angle meningiomas.
BACKGROUND
Preservation of cranial nerve function is critical in the management of patients with cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors.


METHODS
A 51-year-old woman with tinnitus and dizziness was discovered to have bilateral CPA dural-based masses extending into the internal auditory canals (IAC). Pre-operatively, the patient had normal hearing on the right (SRT, 5 dB; SDS 100% at 30 dB) and left (SRT, 10 dB; SDS 90% at 40 dB). The patient underwent two Leksell Gamma Knife (Elekta Instruments, Norcross, GA) radiosurgeries initially for the larger left-sided tumor, then one year later for the right. The margin dose for each tumor was 14 Gy. Six years after the first radiosurgery, the tumors have not progressed and she has retained normal hearing and facial function bilaterally.


CONCLUSIONS
Preservation of cranial nerve function is generally possible after stereotactic radiosurgery of CPA meningiomas.
Tanaka
S
S
Department of Neurological Surgery, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Pollock
B E
BE
D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006312:Hearing Loss, Bilateral / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008579:Meningioma / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome