Treatment decision-making for sporadic small vestibular schwannoma in a pediatric patient: A case report and literature review.

The current study reports the case of a 15-year-old male who presented with hearing loss due to a small left-sided vestibular schwannoma (VS) not associated with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), which had been apparent for six months. Magnetic resonance imaging with gadolinium diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid revealed a mass, 10 mm in diameter, located in the left inner auditory canal. The patient had no family history of NF2 and gene mutation analysis showed no signs of the condition. Small sporadic or non-NF2 VS is extremely rare and the treatment decision-making process is complicated in children when considering the implications for the impairment of childhood development and lifelong disability. Following careful consideration, the patient in the present study underwent treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery. The five-year post-operative follow-up examination showed tumor stability without additional neurological deficits and at the time of writing the patient was alive and well.