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OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to describe the first case series in which an exclusive endoscopic transcanal transpromontorial approach (EETTA) was used to treat small vestibular schwannomas (VSs) and meningiomas of the internal auditory canal (IAC). METHODS The authors performed a retrospective review of patients who had undergone surgery using an EETTA to the IAC at 2 university tertiary care referral centers during the period from November 2011 to January 2015. RESULTS Ten patients underwent surgery via an EETTA for the treatment of VS in the IAC at the University Hospital of Modena or the University Hospital of Verona. The patients had Koos Grade I or II tumors and American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Class D hearing status preoperatively. Gross-total resection was achieved in all patients. No major complications such as cerebrospinal fluid leakage or hemorrhage were reported. In 7 of 10 (70%) patients, facial nerve function was normal immediately after surgery (Rough Grading System [RGS] Grade I). Two patients presented with a transitory facial palsy immediately after surgery (RGS Grade II–III) but experienced complete recovery during the follow-up period. The mean follow-up was 10 months. CONCLUSIONS The EETTA proved to be successful for the removal of VS or meningioma involving the cochlea, fundus, and IAC, with possible lower complication rates and less invasive procedures than those for traditional microscopic approaches. The potential for the extensive and routine use of this approach in lateral and posterior skull base surgery will depend on the development of technology and surgical refinements and on the diffusion of skull base endoscopic skills among the otolaryngological and neurosurgical communities.

Objective: Vestibular schwannoma (VS) is a benign tumor of the lateral skull base. Different microscopic surgical techniques are described in literature: the retrosigmoid and translabyrinthine approaches are used to treat big tumors located in the cerebellopontine angle, and the middle cranial fossa approach is utilized for small tumors with good hearing preservation. The expanded transcanal transpromontorial (ExpTT) approach is a combined microscopic-endoscopic technique previously indicated for Koos stage I and II VS and now proposed for larger VS, up to 3 cm in diameter, with linear progression into the cerebellopontine angle and touching the brainstem. Study Design: The study was a retrospective case series of patients who underwent ExpTT surgery for VS in our ear, nose, and throat department. Setting: We reviewed the surgical videos and electrophysiologic data recorded during the surgical operations. Subjects and Methods: From January 2015 to January 2017, 20 patients affected by Koos stage II and III VS underwent surgery in our department with the ExpTT approach. This novel technique is described step by step, with a focus on the surgical procedure and anatomic landmarks; outcomes are detailed in terms of early and late complications. The mean follow-up was 15 months. Results: The ExpTT approach permitted, in all patients, gross total resection of the tumor without any complication and with preservation of facial nerve function. All patients had a good postoperative recovery. Conclusion: The ExpTT technique is a new approach that combines the advantages of a microscopic technique with the ones offered by the endoscope in removal of VS.

Background: Recently, the transcanal approach for the removal of acoustic neuromas has been introduced. Facial nerve (FN) preservation is one of the main challenges of this kind of surgery. Objective: To describe our experience in the surgical treatment of acoustic neuromas, focusing on the functional results of FN preservation after a transcanal approach. Methods: A retrospective chart review was carried out on clinical data and videos from operations on 49 patients who underwent surgery with a totally transcanal exclusive endoscopic approach for Koos stage I-II lesions, or an enlarged transcanal transpromontorial approach for Koos stage II-III tumors, between March 2012 and February 2017. Patients and tumor characteristics, clinical manifestations, radiologic features, audiological results, FN outcomes (according to the House-Brackmann [HB] grading system) and complications were evaluated. Tumors were classified according to the Koos grading system. Results: The age of the patients (34 females and 15 males) ranged from 27 to 77 years (mean age: 54.9 yr). Preoperative diagnosis was "vestibular schwannoma" in all patients. At the last follow-up (range 1-60 mo, mean 13.9 mo), 42 of 49 showed grade I HB FN function, 5 of 49 grade II HB, and 2 of 49 grade III HB. Overall, in 95.9%, FN function was preserved (grade I-II HB) with stable results at follow-up; in 4.1% of cases, FN function was reduced, but not worse than grade III. Conclusion: The transcanal approach represents a feasible, minimally invasive, and conservative technique for the management of acoustic neuromas of the internal auditory canal.

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Surgical approaches to vestibular schwannomas (VS) are widely known and extensively recorded. For the first time, an exclusive endoscopic approach to the internal acoustic canal (IAC) was described and used to safely remove a cochlear schwannoma involving IAC in March 2012. The aim of this article was to summarize indications and technique to treat intracanalicular VS by transcanal/transpromontorial endoscopic approach. Because management of intracanalicular VSs is complex and strongly debated, this kind of therapeutic option in the appropriate and selected cases could modify classic concepts of the management of this pathology.