Vol.95 No.6 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 95 No. 6 June 2002
A Case of Acoustic Neurinoma Occurring in a 5-Year-Old Child
Takaaki Sakuma
(Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital)
Kazuhiro Noguchi, Jun Uchida, Manabu Matsumoto,
Naohiko Watanabe and Hiroyuki Zusho
(Kanto Rosai Hospital)
A case of acoustic neurinoma occurring in a 5-year-old female is reported. She had complained of hearing loss in her right ear since May 1999, which continued to deteriorate until she was admitted to our hospital in December 1999. Apart from the hearing loss, she did not complain of any other problems. An audiogram revealed 83.3 dB (average hearing level) sensorineural hearing loss in the right ear. An X-ray showed complete destruction of the internal auditory meatus. There was no auditory brain stem response in the second to fifth waves, and MRI angiography revealed an acoustic neuroma. The tumor was very large and was compressing her brain stem. Emergency surgery was performed via a suboccipital approach. After the operation the patient exhibited sensorineural hearing loss, facial palsy, and recurrent nerve palsy on the right side. Two weeks after the operation, the severe symptoms had decreased. The original nerve was not identified in the operation. We suspect that the tumor had grown very rapidly, since it was being nourished by the external carotid artery, and because the patient was very young. Since only 0.3％ of acoustic tumors occur in children (under 9 years old), this was a very rare case.
Key words : acoustic neurinoma, children, hearing loss