Quality of life in patients with vestibular schwannomas managed conservatively

Since the era of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning, vestibular schwannomas are being diagnosed earlier, growth has been shown to be static in up to 70% of cases and patients have admitted to a reduced quality of life following acoustic neuroma surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of life in patients with vestibular schwannomas managed conservatively. Fifty patients with a vestibular schwannoma were identified who were being managed by interval MRI scanning. Fifty patients attending the general otolaryngology clinic with similar symptoms were prospectively recruited. Each group was assessed using the short form 36 (SF-36) health survey. Both groups were adequately age and sex matched and the SF-36 scores were comparable across all eight health domains.