Case Series: A 5-year-experience ofTranslabyrinthine Approach in Managing Cerebellopontine Angle Tumour in Ministry of Health Malaysia

Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are benign tumours of vestibular branch of vestibulocochlear nerve, originated from the glial cells that form the myelin sheaths. The tumours account for 6% to 10% of all intracranial tumours and 60% to 90% of cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumours. This article described our experience in managing CPA tumour via translabyrinthine approach in the setting of Ministry of Health in Malaysia, with multidisciplinary team involvement. We discussed the demographics, common clinical presentation, histopathology of the CPA tumour, hospital stays and complications. There were 26 surgeries performed from 2018 until 2022, whereby a total of 18 (69.2%) patients were female, and 8(30.8%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 49.35 ­­+ 13.39. From a total of 26 patients, 19 (69.2%) had a normal post-operative facial nerve function. However, a total of 7 patients (30.8%) suffered from permanent facial nerve palsy ranging from House-Brackmann grade II to grade IV. Our data revealed that four (15.4%) patients sustained cerebrospinal leak. The total duration of hospital stays ranged from 5 days to 51 days with median of 8.5 and interquartile range (IQR) of 5.75. Acoustic neuroma surgery via translabyrinthine approach is a safe and compelling treatment. The interdisciplinary concept is recommended as each step of the operation requires specialist expertise.