The optimal management of vestibular schwannoma (VS) associated with hydrocephalus in octogenarians remains controversial. We report two patients aged 80 years or older with Koos grade IV VS who underwent surgical treatment. CASE DESCRIPTION: Case 1 involved an 86-year-old woman who presented with progressive gait disturbance caused by a 3.5-cm cystic right VS associated with hydrocephalus....
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable change for routine audiology practice; this case report may inform neurosurgical decision-making for elderly vestibular schwannoma patients with hydrocephalus, but is too limited in scope to change referral or management guidelines.
As the population ages, clinicians increasingly encounter elderly patients with vestibular schwannomas, and evidence supporting surgical feasibility in octogenarians—even with complications—has value for multidisciplinary treatment planning.
- 01Two patients in their 80s with large vestibular schwannomas and hydrocephalus underwent surgery successfully.
- 02Both achieved favorable functional outcomes despite advanced age and surgical complexity.
- 03Case report in Surgical Neurology International; findings cannot be generalized.
- 04Challenges the assumption that extreme age is a contraindication for schwannoma surgery.
- 05Careful patient selection and surgical expertise appear critical to outcomes.
Surgical treatment of large vestibular schwannomas with hydrocephalus is feasible in octogenarians with favorable functional outcomes.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42829570
- DOI
- 10.25259/SNI_806_2026.
- Journal
- Surgical Neurology International
- Publication type
- case_report
- Evidence level
- 4
- Sample size
- 2
- Population
- Octogenarians (patients in their 80s) with large vestibular schwannomas complicated by hydrocephalus
- Intervention
- Surgical resection of large vestibular schwannomas
Primary outcomes
Functional outcomes post-surgery; Safety and feasibility of surgery in octogenarians