[Methodology and results of total acoustic neurinoma removal using microsurgical technics]

The authors describe the stages of operation for total removal of neurinoma of the acoustic nerve with the use of microsurgical techniques in 150 patients. Fourteen (9.3%) of them were operated on in stage I of the disease and the facial nerve was preserved in all of them; 59 underwent operation in stage II, the facial nerve was preserved in 42 (71.1%); 77 (51.3%) were operated on in far advanced stage III, the facial nerve was preserved in 38 (49.3%). Thus, in 94 (62.7%) of 150 patients who underwent total removal of neurinomas, the facial nerve was preserved; it functioned in 71 (75.5%), in 23 patients its function was lost after the operation. Preservation of the facial nerve depends, therefore, on the size of the neurinoma and the stage of its development. Seven (4.8%) patients died after the operation. Most of the patients who underwent operation retain their working capacity.