Damage of the peripheral auditory system after operations in the cerebellopontine angle. A scanning electron-microscopic observation in dogs.

Cochlear nerve injuries caused by manipulations in the cerebellopontine angle were electrophysiologically and morphologically investigated in dogs. Operative procedures similar to those performed in the cerebellopontine angle of humans were applied in dogs. Auditory-evoked potentials were recorded throughout the experiments. Postoperatively, the temporal bones were studied with a scanning electron microscope. The portions of the cochlear nerve fibers and branches of the internal auditory artery that exit from the bony cochlea into the internal auditory canal were susceptible to traction force derived from manipulations in the cerebellopontine angle. The cochlear nerve fibers from the basal turn of the cochlea were most easily pulled out from the fundus of the internal auditory canal. In some cases, massive hemorrhages and exudation of plasma were observed in the entire modiolus; these compressed the cochlear nerve trunk. The Schwann-glial junctions of the cochlear nerves were separated in some dogs, indicating this junction was one of the most vulnerable sites to operative manipulations in the cerebellopontine angle.