Treatment of Acoustic neuroma

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Treatment options will depend on your age and general health, as well as the size of the acoustic neuroma and how fast it is growing. Treatment is carried out in specialist centres and will usually consist of one of the following options:

Observation:

If the growth is very small and growing very slowly, surgery may not be necessary. Symptoms and growth rate can be monitored quite easily with regular check-ups and MRI scans.

Microsurgery:

Microsurgery is a very effective way of completely removing the growth so that no further treatment is needed. Many of the symptoms disappear after the growth has been removed, especially if it was small. Most people stay in hospital for one to two weeks after surgery to recover, and you may feel very tired for a while.

If the growth is large, then it may have caused more damage and this sometimes leads to some loss of hearing in the affected ear. Sometimes damage to the facial nerve can lead to permanent facial numbness. Surgery cannot repair this type of damage that has already happened.

Even when a growth has been removed, there is a very small chance the neuroma will grow back. Therefore, follow-up MRI scans should be performed regularly.

Radiotherapy:

Some specialists may suggest radiation treatment for those patients unwilling or unable to undergo surgery. Controlled doses of radiation are directed at the neuroma to damage it and stop it growing. Radiotherapy does not affect cell growth of the neuroma immediately, and some neuroma cells can take several months to die after radiation treatment. Some neuromas shrink in size but do not disappear completely. Further MRI scans are needed from time to time to monitor the growth.

Radiosurgery:

Radiosurgery is a relatively new technique for treating acoustic neuromas and is only available in a few hospitals. It is a specialized form of radiotherapy that directs a high dose of radiation to the exact point where the tumour is located. This can help to prevent the surrounding tissue being damaged. The long-term effects of radiosurgery are not yet known, although it has fewer immediate side effects than surgery or radiotherapy. Radiosurgery is not suitable for large tumours.