Radiographic Factors Predicting Postoperative Facial Nerve Deficit in Vestibular Schwannomas

Introduction: Vestibular schwannomas (VS) occur in 1 of 100,000 people in the United States. Given the nature and location of these tumors within the internal auditory canal (IAC), 12% of patients report facial paresthesia and 6% have facial nerve (FN) palsy. The FN is at a high risk of injury during surgeries, with 8 to 20% of patients reporting FN paralysis after surgery. The tumor diameter, volume, and location can predict FN damage.