Educational Lecture From original articles to recent advances -Management transition of representative diseases-
Vestibular Schwannoma
―History of Diagnosis and Treatment―
2019 Volume 78 Issue 3 Pages 148-156
Details
2019 Volume 78 Issue 3 Pages 148-156
Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is a benign tumor that originates from the vestibular nerve, extending to the cerebellopontine angle. It was first described in the latter part of the 1700s. The symptoms of VS include unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness, etc. In general, the hearing loss develops gradually, although some patients develop deafness of sudden onset. The audiogram in patients with VS who present with deafness of sudden onset shows trough-type hearing loss at mid-frequencies. Audiogram, caloric testing and ABR are useful tools for the diagnosis of VS, however, a definitive diagnosis can only be made by MRI with gadolinium enhancement.
Currently, there are tree treatment options for VS: “wait and scan,” surgical removal, and radiotherapy. Selection among these treatment options is mainly made based on the tumor size, preoperative hearing level and the patient's age. Herein, we present the key points for early diagnosis and appropriate management of VS.
