Twelve-Month Outcomes of Simultaneous Translabyrinthine Resection and Cochlear Implantation.

OBJECTIVE

Audiometric outcomes at 12 months following simultaneous translabyrinthine (TL) resection of vestibular schwannoma (VS) and cochlear implantation (CI).

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

Tertiary referral center.

METHODS

Adult patients undergoing TL resection of sporadic, unilateral VS ≤ 2 cm were prospectively enrolled. Preoperative testing included binaural AZBio in noise and quiet and unilateral Consonant-Nucleus-Consonant (CNC). Tinnitus Handicap Index (THI) and Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing (SSQ) questionnaires were also completed. Patients underwent TL resection with simultaneous CI. The preoperative test battery was repeated at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after activation. Statistical analysis was performed to characterize short-term outcomes (preoperative to 3 months), longer-term outcomes (3-12 months), and overall changes during the preoperative to 12-month period.

RESULTS

AZBio, CNC, and THI improved at 3 months with no significant changes thereafter and showed durable improvement at 12 months compared to preoperative testing. While SSQ did not improve at 12 months, a subset of patients showed either recovery or improvement of SSQ-spatial subscores. Patients with cerebellopontine angle tumors had poorer performance, although the impact of tumor size and location could not be deduced based on the small sample size.

CONCLUSION

Patients undergoing simultaneous CI and TL resection of VS had durable improvements in speech perception and tinnitus severity 12 months following surgery. Subjective improvements in localization were not observed. Additional studies are needed to determine which VS patients are optimal candidates for CI.