Abstract

Background. Facial nerve is particularly susceptible to damage in the course of cerebellopontine angle tumour surgery. For several years neurosurgeons from the Neurosurgery Department in Katowice have been able to preserve anatomical continuity of this nerve during surgery in almost all patients. However, we have observed various degrees of facial nerve paresis and rarely paralysis in the early post-operative period. These problems prompted us to investigate if rehabilitation can significantly influence long-term functional outcomes in regard to the facial nerve. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 133 patients operated for cerebellopontine angle tumours at the 1st Department of Neurosurgery, Silesian Medical University in Katowice, between 1990 and 2006. The House-Brackman scale was used for evaluation of facial nerve function in all patients. A period of 18 months after surgery was chosen as the time of final clinical assessment. Results. The study showed that rehabilitation has a statistically significant beneficial effect on long-tern assessment of facial nerve function. At the same time, tumour size and type significantly affected facial nerve function both in the early post-operative period and in long-term assessment. Conclusions. Early rehabilitation results in better long-term therapeutic outcomes. Intraoperative monitoring contributes to reducing the incidence of functional impairment of the facial nerve.

Key words:

facial nerve, intraoperative monitoring, rehabilitation, cerebellopontine angle tumour