Audiological findings after stereotactic radiosurgery in acoustic neurinomas

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Abstract
Stereotactic radiosurgery was used in the treatment of 126 patients with acoustic neurinomas up to 30 mm in diameter from 1969 to 1984. Adequate follow-up data (mean follow-up period 4.7 years) were available for 111 (116 ears) of these 126 patients; of these 111 patients, 64 (65 ears) had a pure-tone threshold of < 90 dB before the treatment and were followed up audiologically. Preserved hearing was found in 26% of the ears one year postoperatively. Shrinkage of the tumour was obtained in 44% and arrest of its growth in 42%. There was no mortality related to the radiosurgical treatment. Transitory facial weakness was noted in 15% of the patients (3% in 1983–84). Eighteen per cent of the patients had some, usually transitory, trigeminal dysfunction. The stapedius reflex threshold was improved in 13 ears (20%). In one patient the audiological tests became pathological in the contralateral ear during growth of a new tumour. Initially the stapedius reflex threshold was elevated, and 11 months later the BRA pattern also became abnormal.