[Recurrent acoustic neuroma: report of 11 cases]

To improve the therapeutic effect of acoustic neuroma, 158 patients with acoustic neuroma treated in our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 11 recurrent acoustic neuroma were found. The clinical analysis demonstrated that the recurrence of acoustic neuroma had close relationship with the size of the tumor, operative approach and extent of excision. All recurrent acoustic neuroma was large-sized when first operated. The more the tumor was excised, the lower the recurrent rate was. The recurrent rates were 19.4% for partial resection, 13.2% for near-total resection, 0% for total resection respectively. Retrolabyrinthine approach was more likely to recur than other approaches. The key to decrease recurrent rate was to excise as much tumor as possible. According to growth rate and double time of acoustic neuroma measured in this study, regular follow-up with CT or MRI at interval of 6 months was emphasized. X-knife was effective for early-diagnosed recurrent acoustic neuroma.