Hearing preservation following a transtemporal resection of an acoustic schwannoma: a case report.

The transtemporal or translabyrinthine approach is generally regarded as the most reliable method of ensuring total tumor removal and preservation of facial nerve function in the resection of a cerebellopontine angle tumor. This is particularly true in removing a tumor that has a significant extension into the patient's internal auditory canal. An anticipated deficit associated with the approach is a total hearing loss in the patient's hearing on the operated side. We have encountered a patient, however, who was serially documented as having serviceable hearing after a transtemporal removal of an acoustic schwannoma. Plausible reasons for the functional preservation of some of this patient's hearing are included in the discussion.