Surgical removal of giant acoustic neurinomas involving the skull base. Report of two cases.

Neurinomas arising from the peripheral branch of the acoustic nerve distal to the internal auditory canal in the temporal bone are rare. Two advanced skull-base neurinomas are described which were situated mainly in the temporal petrous bone, and extended to the parapharyngeal space anteriorly, to the lateral cervical portion inferiorly, into the sphenoidal sinus medially, and into the middle and posterior cranial fossae compressing the brain stem. Both patients had been deaf for several years without other neurological deficits. The operative findings revealed that the fifth, seventh, and caudal cranial nerves were intact; therefore, it was suspected that these neurinomas originated primarily within the cochlea or the vestibule in the temporal bone. The tumors were completely removed via an extradural approach, with good results. Since the surgical treatment of such advanced skull-base neurinomas is difficult, the operative infratemporal fossa approach is described in detail.