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Quality of life after vestibular schwannoma surgery: does hearing preservation make a difference?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2009

A P Iyer ,
R Gunn  and
H Sillars
A P Iyer*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
R Gunn
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
H Sillars
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
*
Address for correspondence: Mr Arunachalam P Iyer, Consultant ENT Surgeon, NHS Lanarkshire, Wishaw General Hospital, Wishaw ML2 0DP, UK. Fax: 01698 366010 E-mail: arunachalamps@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Objective:

Surgery for vestibular schwannoma may reduce patients' quality of life, but the effect of hearing preservation on this process is not fully understood. Our aim was to determine whether hearing preservation makes a difference to patients' quality of life in this clinical setting.

Study design:

Retrospective questionnaire and cross-sectional survey.

Methods:

The study included 104 consecutive patients who had undergone surgery for vestibular schwannoma between 1998 and 2004. Surgery was via a middle cranial fossa route in 24 patients and a translabyrinthine route in 79. Quality of life was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire and the Glasgow Benefit Inventory.

Results:

Quality of life was reduced in both patient groups, with a mean Glasgow Benefit Inventory score of −7.5 (confidence interval (CI) −13 to −2.5) in the translabyrinthine patients and −4 (confidence interval −13.5 to 5.5) in the middle fossa patients. The SF-36 scores did not show any statistically significant difference between the two groups, except for social function (p = 0.01).

Conclusions:

Surgery for vestibular schwannoma reduces patients' quality of life, and the preservation of hearing, achieved by using a middle fossa surgical approach, does not significantly alter this result.

Keywords

Quality Of LifeAcoustic NeuromaVestibular SchwannomaHearing

Information

Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 124 , Issue 4 , April 2010 , pp. 370 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2009

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Footnotes

Presented at the Otolaryngological Research Society Meeting, 30th September 2005, London, and Section of Otology of RSM at the Royal Society of Medicine, 3rd March 2006, London, UK.

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