Abstract
For the initial diagnosis of acoustic neuroma, past CT scans were regarded as unreliable, and therefore contrast-enhanced MRIs were used as the standard diagnostic approach. A diagnosis of internal auditory canal and cerebellopontine angle tumors is typically made by departments other than otolaryngology deparartments. Otolaryngology departments therefore tend to play a small role in such diagnoses. Cone-beam CT is a device that is smaller than previous CT models which makes it possible to obtain more precise images than were previously obtainable. We herein report 2 patients with a density area suggestive of an acoustic neuroma in the internal auditory canal and both were detected by cone-beam CT. Recently, patients suspected of having an acoustic neuroma, usually undergo an MRI and thereafter are managed by the neurology department. These days, fewer neuroma patients are managed by otolaryngologists. Currently, surgery is no longer the first choice for an acoustic neuroma and the range of treatment choices has greatly expanded. We believe that our findings show cone-beam CT to be novel diagnostic device that enables otolaryngologists to manage acoustic neuromas even in when they are located in the internal auditory canal. With further refinements of this device, improvements in the diagnostic accuracy of acoustic neuroma are thus expected.
