2018 AANS Annual Scientific Meeting-Treatment of Large Vestibular Schwannomas: How to Improve Facial Function Preservation?

Treatment of Large Vestibular Schwannomas: How to Improve Facial Function Preservation?

Video Transcription

Video Summary

Dr. El Wahhabi from Morocco's Rabat University presented on the management of large vestibular schwannomas and how to improve facial function. The primary treatment for large vestibular schwannomas is surgery, but it comes with a high risk of facial nerve injury. Radiosurgery is not recommended for large lesions associated with brain stem compression. Dr. El Wahhabi reviewed literature on large vestibular schwannoma treatments and found that current methods achieve facial nerve preservation rates of around 40% to 80%. To improve facial nerve function, Dr. El Wahhabi's team implemented a protocol of subtotal removal and combined treatment with radiosurgery. They divided their study into two groups - one that underwent radical surgery and one that underwent subtotal removal and radiosurgery. In their study, they found that subtotal removal and radiosurgery resulted in better preservation of facial nerve function compared to radical surgery. While the protocol has shown promise, there is still a need for longer follow-up to evaluate the results and the risk of recurrence.

Asset Caption

Abdessamad El Ouahabi, MD (Morocco)

Keywords

Dr. El Wahhabi

large vestibular schwannomas

facial function

surgery

radiosurgery