title: Quality of Life in Patients With Vestibular Schwannomas According to Management Strategy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of patients treated for unilateral vestibular schwannoma via observation, microsurgery, or gamma knife radiosurgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study design was retrospective and cross-sectional.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients treated for vestibular schwannoma at our institute in 2012-2013 completed a standardized questionnaire (Short Form-36) via telephone to evaluate their quality of life at least 6 months after treatment. Patients were categorized according to management (microsurgery, n = 47; gamma knife radiosurgery, n = 27; and observation, n = 34). Clinical characteristics and quality of life were compared among the groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tumor control rates were 94.0% in the microsurgery group and 96.2% in the radiosurgery group. The most annoying symptoms were hearing loss in the microsurgery group, dizziness in the radiosurgery group, and tinnitus in the observation group. Quality-of-life scores did not differ significantly among the three groups in four of the eight domains of the questionnaire. The microsurgery group had a significantly higher score in the general health perception domain than the other groups (p = 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quality of life is higher after microsurgery than after radiosurgery. One specific management strategy cannot always guarantee the better quality of life. The functional status and personality traits of the patient should be considered, as well as tumor size and location when choosing a management option.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon †Department of Otorhinolaryngology ‡Department of Neurosurgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Ji
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kyung
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jin Roh
authors.forename: Hee So
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Won Seok
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: In Seok
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Moon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004244:Dizziness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009464:Neuroma, Acoustic / Q000601:surgery*; D011788:Quality of Life; D016634:Radiosurgery / Q000009:adverse effects*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D057832:Watchful Waiting