Trigeminal schwannomas: the role of the neurotologist in multidisciplinary management

Trigeminal neuromas are slow-growing benign tumors representing approximately 10% of all intracranial neuromas and less than 0.5% of all intracranial tumors. Historically, excision of these tumors through traditional neurosurgical routes--including the frontotemporal transsylvian, subtemporal-intradural, subtemporal-transtentorial, or suboccipital approaches--has resulted in an unsatisfactorily high rate of recurrence. In this study we compare contemporary skull base/neurotologic approaches with conventional procedures for trigeminal neuroma extirpation.