Patients usually present with hearing loss and buzzing in the ears. Sometimes in the advanced stages or if the tumor remains untreated, patients may experience one-sided facial paralysis. These tumors must be removed with surgery; otherwise it may even lead to death. The favorable side of these tumors is that once they are removed surgically, they do not recur and the patient is cured. The surgery is a highly specific one but it can be done without any problems in the hands of an experienced surgeon. However, there is a risk of facial paralysis after surgery, even in the hands of the most experienced surgeons. We use the “neuromonitoring” technique in which we constantly monitor the facial nerve during surgery and we can perform much safer operations. Patients are usually discharged at latest the fourth day after surgery, being able to perform their personal needs by themselves. They can go back to work after 10-15 days of rest. Patients who undergo cerebellopontine angle tumor surgery don’t need chemotherapy or radiation therapy because the tumor does not recur.
An approximately 5-cm cerebellopontine angle tumor adjacent to the brain stem. Operated and excised completely by myself.
This patient was discharged being able to perform on his/her own without any problems. One of the most common complications of this surgery is facial paralysis; we did not encounter this complication despite the size of the tumor. Postoperative MR images that show the tumor being removed completely are shown below.
