Auditory Brain Stem Response Predictors of Hearing Outcomes after Middle Fossa Resection of Vestibular Schwannomas

Objectives To analyze the relationship between preoperative and intraoperative auditory brain stem response (ABR) characteristics and hearing outcomes in patients with vestibular schwannomas (VS) undergoing hearing preservation (HP) surgery via a middle cranial fossa (MCF) approach. Design Prospective study. Setting Academic tertiary skull base referral center. Methods Pre- and postoperative pure-tone average (PTA) and word recognition score (WRS) were examined. Intraoperative ABR wave III latency, wave V latency, and amplitude were recorded. HP was defined as postoperative WRS ≥50%. Participants Adult patients with VS and WRS ≥50% who underwent MCF tumor resection between November 2017 and September 2019. Main Outcome Measures Postoperative hearing outcomes. Results Sixty patients were included. Mean tumor size was 9.2 mm (range, 3–17). HP rates were 56.7% for the cohort and 69.7% for tumors Conclusion Of the examined preoperative and intraoperative ABR characteristics, a stable wave V intraoperatively was the strongest predictor of HP after MCF resection of VS. Level of Evidence Level III.