Complications in translabyrinthine surgery of vestibular schwannoma

Objective: To evaluate the risk of complications associated with tumor size and patient's age in translabyrinthine vestibular schwannoma surgery. Methods: 700 patients with vestibular schwannoma primarily underwent translabyrinthine surgery between 1988 and 2014. Pre- and postoperative data were collected in a database and incidence of the postoperative complications cerebrospinal fluid leakage, meningitis, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), facial nerve function and mortality were assessed and related to the tumor size and patient's age and retrospectively evaluated. Results: The tumor size significantly influenced the incidence of ICH and facial nerve dysfunction whereas age was correlated to facial nerve outcome. Conclusions: The translabyrinthine approach is a safe surgical procedure with relatively low risks of complications. The tumor size was significantly associated with a higher risk of ICH and facial nerve dysfunction whereas age only influenced the facial nerve outcome.