Hearing preservation after modified translabyrinthine approach performed to remove a vestibular schwannoma.

Hearing preservation after surgical removal of a vestibular schwannoma by a modified translabyrinthine approach was initially reported by McElveen et al in 1991. We report the case of a 46-year-old man from whom a vestibular schwannoma (grade I) was removed by this approach. The patient's hearing was preserved and was stable after 21 months. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case with satisfactory and long-standing hearing preservation. However, further experimental studies are needed to determine the mechanisms of hearing preservation in order to develop a reliable technique for this approach before using it as an alternative in the management of vestibular schwannoma.