Facial nerve function in cerebellopontine angle tumor surgery.

This article evaluates previous reports of facial nerve function after acoustic tumor surgery, and reports the results of a series of 144 patients treated surgically for cerebellopontine angle tumors. Previous reports have been handicapped by lack of an adequate grading system, which makes it difficult to compare results of different series. Previous studies provide limited correlation of pertinent features of pathology and management. This study correlates both the anatomic status of the facial nerve postoperatively with the ultimate outcome, and whether or not additional facial nerve surgery was performed, as well as the level of facial nerve function with the duration of time elapsed since surgery. Findings indicate that, although the long-term likelihood for satisfactory recovery of facial function is high, there is also a high likelihood of severe facial paralysis at some point during the postoperative course. Emphasis is also placed on maximal use of available technology during the process of dissection of the nerve from the tumor.