A decade later - assessing hearing preservation in vestibular schwannoma patients post middle cranial fossa surgery.

BACKGROUND

Patients with smaller vestibular schwannoma (VS) with preserved hearing can be subjected to hearing preservation surgery using the Middle Cranial Fossa (MCF) approach.

AIMS/

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to evaluate hearing outcome postoperatively and more than 10 years after MCF surgery.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Eighty-four patients with sporadic unilateral VS treated with MCF surgery between 1998 and 2020 at a single tertiary centre, were retrospectively studied. Pure tone audiometry and word recognition scores (WRS) preoperatively, postoperatively, and after > 10 years of follow-up, were analysed.

RESULTS

Sixty (71%) patients had preserved hearing function after MCF surgery. Twenty-three of the 60 patients were followed up for >10 years after surgery. Hearing outcomes of the tumour ear after >10 years of follow up were as follows: median pure tone average (PTA): 61 decibel hearing level (dB HL) (range 6-94 dB HL), and median WRS 71% (range: 0-98%). The age-related decline in pure tone audiometry thresholds was not significantly different between the tumour and contralateral ears.

CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: MCF surgery offers the possibility of retaining hearing function even after >10 years of surgery in patients with preserved hearing. Additional hearing loss at the long-term follow-up was bilateral and symmetrical.