Surgical Outcomes of Cerebellopontine angle Tumors in 50 Cases

INTRODUCTION: To report our experience with a large series of surgical procedures for removal of cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors using different approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of 50 patients (mean age, 49 years) with CPA tumors (predominantly acoustic neuroma) who underwent surgical removal using appropriate techniques (principally a translabyrinthine approach) during a 4-year period. RESULTS: One death occurred during this study. There were nine cases (18%) of cerebrospinal fluid leak, and five patients (10%) were diagnosed as having bacterial meningitis. Complete gross tumor removal was not achieved in four patients (8%). Facial nerve function as measured by the House Brackmann system was recorded in all patients 1 year following surgery: 32% had a score of 1 or 2; 26% had a score of 3 or 4; and 8% had a score of 5 or 6. Other complications included four cases of wound infection. CONCLUSION: The translabyrinthine approach was predominantly used in our series of CPA tumors, and complication rates were comparable with other large case series.