Background: The experience of the medical team, interdisciplinarity, quality of the physician-patient relationship, sensible use of modern technology, and a sound knowledge about the long-term results of observation and interventions all influence treatment quality in patients with vestibular schwannomas.
Objectives: Compilation of findings regarding the results of observation and microsurgical treatment of patients with these tumors. Deduction of strategies for the medical management from these data.
Materials and methods: Review of the pertinent literature concerning the course of the disease with observational management and microsurgical treatment with respect to tumor growth and symptoms.
Results: Reported annual growth rates of vestibular schwannoma vary between 0.3 and 4.8 mm. Vertigo is the symptom that is most influential on quality of life regardless of the medical management strategy. Up to 75 % of patients are treated within 5 years of the primary diagnosis. Independent of the approach, reported resection rates are higher than 95 %, even with preservation of function as the primary goal. Recurrence rates after subtotal removal are three times higher than after complete removal. Facial nerve preservation is accomplished in more than 90 % of cases. With functional hearing before surgery and small tumors, the chance of hearing preservation exceeds 50 %.
Conclusions: Quality of life is primarily defined by symptoms caused by the tumor itself and only secondarily by the medical interventions. Treatment should be directed towards the preservation of the patient's quality of life from the beginning. Results of medical treatment should be superior to the natural course of the disease.
Keywords: Acoustic neuroma; Microsurgery; Natural history; Operative surgical procedures; Quality of life.