Strategy of the diagnosis and treatment for hydrocephalus associated with acoustic neuroma

Abstract

To describe and analyze the strategy of the diagnosis and treatment for acoustic neuroma associated with hydrocephalus. A retrospective review was performed in 29 patients with hydrocephalus associated with acoustic neuroma form Apr. 2004 to Apr. 2015. The patients' clinical information, the types of the hydrocephalus, the treatment and the prognosis of the hydrocephalus were recorded. There were 20 patients with obstructive hydrocephalus and 9 patients with communicating hydrocephalus preoperatively. Among the 29 cases, 3 patients had ventriculoperitoneal shunts, 5 patients had external ventricular drains, the remaining 21 patients had no further managements for hydrocephalus; after removing the acoustic neuroma, the hydrocephalus improved in 10 cases, the ventricle unchanged in 10 cases among the obstructive hydrocephalus group, the ventricle unchanged in all 9 cases among the communicating hydrocephalus group. Nineteen cases were diagnosed with communicating hydrocephalus and 10 cases with obstructive hydrocephalus postoperatively. Among the patients of acoustic neuroma associated with hydrocephalus, communicating hydrocephalus is more common than obstructive hydrocephalus. The optimal management of acoustic neuroma associated with hydrocephalus is complete removal of the tumor, with treatment only for patients with persistent hydrocephalus.