Size as a Risk Factor for Growth in Conservatively Managed Vestibular Schwannomas The Birmingham Experience

This article discusses conservatively managed tumors, whether larger tumors at presentation are more likely to grow, and whether position at presentation corresponds with growth. A review is presented of more than 900 patients managed at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, between 1997 and 2012. Tumors were arbitrarily divided into 3 groups: intracanalicular (IC), and extracanalicular (EC) tumors measuring 1 to 10 mm or 11 to 20 mm at the cerebellopontine angle. This series shows that larger EC tumors grow faster than IC tumors and that EC tumors overall at presentation are more likely to grow than IC tumors.