G. Raja Sekhar Kennedy1, Jagadish2
INTRODUCTION: Cerebellopontine angle tumors are a surgical challenge to many neurosurgeons who want to operate in this space. Although most of these tumors are benign, they are a challenge because of the complex anatomy and important neurovascular structures that traverse this space. Most common cerebellopontine angle tumor is vestibular schwannoma. The management of these cases is essentially surgical. There has been a change in the surgical strategy over the years from simple intratumoral decompression to complete microsurgical excision, to facial nerve preservation and hearing preservation.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study the clinical and radiological characteristics, know the pathological types and determine the surgical resectability and outcome of cerebellopontine angle tumor.
MATERIALS AND METHOD: It is a prospective study done in the department of Neurosurgery, King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. It is a Tertiary Care Hospital. 50 patients diagnosed with cerebellopontine angle tumor were recruited into the study and were managed.
RESULTS: 50 cases of cerebellopontine angle tumors accounting for 11% of all intracranial space occupying lesions, of which vestibular schwannoma alone constituted 10%. Most of the tumors were large or giant tumors. Total resection was done in 74% of vestibular schwannoma and 50% of meningiomas. Anatomical preservation of facial nerve was achieved in 67% of patients.
CONCLUSION: Cerebellopontine angle tumors show high incidence from 3rd to 5th decade with common symptoms being hearing loss and ataxia. Most of the patients presented at a delayed stage with large to giant tumors with no useful hearing. Complete excision of tumor preserving facial and lower cranial nerve function is the goal. Postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leak can be managed effectively with conservative therapy
