Diagnosis and surgery of acoustic tumours

In the diagnosis of acoustic neuromata the stapedial reflex test, the forward vs reverse Békésy test, the loudness balance test, and the adaptation test have all been found superior among the special tests used in predicting a tumour diagnosis. Conventional X-ray studies of the internal acoustic meati are always performed, followed by tomograms and in suspected cases by meatocisternography. In the present series translabyrinthine total removal was performed in 21 cases, a planned decompression in 5, while in 2 the removal was subtotal. Only two permanent facial paralyses arose, one corrected by masseteric plasty and the other by facial-hypoglossal lateral perceptive hearing impairment as being caused by a tumour until proven otherwise.