Acoustic Neuroma Surgery | Best Acoustic tumors Surgeons in Bangalore | Acoustic Neuroma Surgeons in Bangalore, India - Sakra World Hospital
Home

What are Acoustic tumors?

Acoustic tumors are specialized tumors that arise from the sheath coating of the nerve responsible for hearing and balance. The correct neurosurgical name for them is Vestibular Schwannoma.

What are the common symptoms associated with Acoustic Neuroma?

  1. Early symptom is the loss of hearing in one ear:
    1. This can manifest in different ways. Either by the initial inability to understand the speech on telephone or inability to understand high pitched voices or tones.
    2. The main damage is to speech discrimination or understanding speech rather than just hearing it.
    3. Gradual loss of hearing will not improve on raising the voice. Shouting helps only when there is a problem in the conducting system in the ear. With a brain tumor, the hearing will not improve on raising the voice.
  2. Ringing in ears (Tinnitus).
  3. Feeling of fullness in the ears
  4. Vertigo or dizziness
  5. Facial numbness, weakness, and tingling
  6. Difficulty in swallowing
  7. Headache, clumsiness, and confusion.
  8. Difficulty in maintaining body balance
  9. Rarely, sudden loss of hearing

For further confirmation on Acoustic neuroma, the neurologist will recommend the following tests.

1. Hearing test: The test will check hearing ability and determine whether the problem is associated to the nerve.
2. MRI Scan (Magnetic resonance imaging)         

How are Acoustic neuromas treated?

Acoustic neuromas are treated based on its growth, size and location or position. The three modes of treatments for Acoustic neuromas are as follows:

  1. Monitoring the tumor
  2. Brain therapy
  3. Radiation therapy (stereotactic radiosurgery)

Monitoring the tumor

The acoustic tumors grow very slowly. Therefore if detected early and are small the doctor will just observe the progress of the tumor by doing MRI scans periodically. If the tumor grows in size the doctor may recommend either surgery or radiotherapy.

Brain surgery

Surgery is the most popular and effective modality of treating this tumor. Surgery for vestibular schwannomas are widely practiced and with the assistance of new technology can bring about good healing as well as preservation of hearing as well as facial nerve function.

In the times of old, this surgery was associated with severe complications. It meant a complete loss of hearing, questionable balance issues and a loss of the facial nerve, a nerve crucial for the symmetry and functioning of the muscles of the face. This nerve usually passes in close proximity to the tumor and was routinely sacrificed causing debilitating eye and mouth issues as well as disfiguring asymmetry of the face.

Nowadays, with the advent of nerve stimulation as well as newer technologies, nerve damage can be limited to a minimum or sometimes even completely avoided. Implements that have helped immensely in the management of this surgery are:

  1. Nerve stimulator: this device can tell the operating surgeon about the location of the facial nerve thereby preserving it
  2. Neuro-navigation: this transforms the MRI imaging taken before the surgery to a slice by slice real-time guidance of surgery. Neuro-navigation has transformed large debilitating surgeries into precise daycare operations that benefit surgeon and patient alike.
  3. BERA: this allows the surgeon to monitor the effects of surgery on the hearing nerve as well as the vital centers of the brain responsible for hearing and heart activity.

All these implements are available at Sakra World Hospital. We also have an on table CT scanner which can be used to identify the status of tumor resection during surgery itself.

Radiation therapy

This modality is sometimes used alone or in conjunction with surgery. Radiation therapy uses radioactive elements to emit healing radiation that can destroy the tumor selectively preserving the normal brain without damage. The most common type of radiation used is GAMMA KNIFE, where an extremely focused beam of radiation is used to shrink the tumor.

Despite the many modalities available for treatment, it will be your Neurosurgeon who will decide on the mode of treatment. Feel free to discuss the pros and cons of the procedures with them before you make a decision.

Quick Enquiry

Testimonials

Blogs related to

  • Smart Ways of Identifying Stroke and Treating It at the Earliest

    Stroke is the leading cause of disability and in many cases, they don’t have to be deadly. Early diagnosis and treatment of the stroke can limit the brain damage and improve the outcomes of

    Read More

  • Understanding EVLT and Its Role in Treating Varicose Veins

    What is a varicose vein

    Varicose veins are twisted, enlarged veins. Any superficial vein may become varicose, but the veins most commonly affected are those in your legs.  It happens because of defective valves in the

    Read More

  • A Journey Of Strength: Stand Tall This World Spine Day

    What if you had a spine deformity so severe that you couldn’t walk? Does it seem like a hopeless situation? It doesn’t have to be. Sakra World Hospital is a pioneer in spinal care and

    Read More

  • Knowledge Is Power. Learn About Stroke to Fight It Now.

    What is a Stroke?

    Stroke is also known as “Brain Attack”. It is similar to a heart attack in nature. It has the potential to affect people of all age groups. The stroke happens when the

    Read More

  • Seven Year Old Undergoes Awake Brain Surgery

    Bengaluru doctors claim it to be first-of-its-kind on a child

    Seven-year-old Nitin (name changed), who complained of a persistent headache and frequent bouts of fits, was diagnosed with a brain tumor around vital blood vessels in

    Read More

  • Pituitary Adenoma

    A pituitary adenoma is a slow-growing and typically benign tumor arising from cells in the pituitary gland. Because they originate from cells in the pituitary gland, they often cause problems related to hormonal

    Read More

  • Craniosynostosis

    Craniosynostosis is derived from the terms cranio, syn and ostosis that relates to the bone. It is a birth defect in which one or more of the joints between the bones on an

    Read More

  • Back and Neck Pain a paradise of myths

    For a vast majority of us, Back and Neck Pain is a fact of life. The timescale of it may vary, but it does visit each of us at some point of time

    Read More

  • Health Warning at your desk to work can be injurious to health.

    Can we imagine a life without computers? Electronic s and computers have percolated into our life at an alarming pace and magnitude. This has occurred at a scale to make me wonder if

    Read More

Contact Us
scam alert