Can hearing improve after acoustic tumor radiosurgery?

Advances in noninvasive diagnostic techniques have enabled physicians to di agnose acoustic tumors early, while hearing is still present. Applications of advanced operative techniques have allowed surgeons to decrease progress ively the operative mortality to virtually zero, to save facial nerve funct ion in a large number of patients, and even to preserve serviceable hearing in selected patients. Documented improvement in hearing after acoustic tum or surgery is rare. During the last decade, stereotactic radiosurgery has e volved as a noninvasive surgical option for acoustic tumors. Hearing improv ement after radiosurgery has not been reported. The authors observed hearin g improvement in 21 out of 487 patients who had radiosurgery during a 10-ye ar interval. This article reviews their experience of hearing improvement a fter radiosurgery and suggests possible reasons that hearing can not only b e retained but also improved in selected patients.