ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the facial nerve functional recovery law after resection of acoustic neuroma,and the influence of tumor size on postoperative facial nerve function. Methods According to the House-Brackman (HB) facial nerve function classification method, 89 patients with acoustic neuroma were performed microsurgical resection with the ret?rosigmoid approach and facial nerve preservation. The HB classification method was used to evaluate the facial nerve func?tion at operation, 15 d, 45 d, 3 m, 6 m, 12 m and more than 12 m after surgery. The recovery pattern of neurological function after operation was analyzed. al. According to the tumor size, patients were divided into three groups: diameter < 30 mm group (n=23), 30-40 mm group (n=31) and≥40 mm group (n=35). The facial nerve function was compared between different groups with early postoperative (within 15 days) and long-term (more than 12 months). Results The facial nerve function was the worst in 15 days after operation (excellence rate was 52.81%), but the function was returned to normal in postopera?tive 3 months (excellent rate reached 80.90%). After postoperative 12 months, almost all patients returned to normal func?tion (excellent rate was 91.01%), and the facial nerve recovery was more smoothly (excellent rate was 92.13%). Tumor size had remarkable effect on facial nerve function in the early postoperative period (χ2=23.34, P<0.05), and long-term period (χ2=14.46, P<0.05). And tumor size was positively correlated with classification of facial nerve function in the early stage (r=0.476, P<0.05) and long-term stage (r=0.379, P<0.05). The excellent rates of postoperative facial nerve function were decreased with the increased diameters of tumor size. Conclusion The facial nerve function may appear deterioration in early postoperative period (within 15 days) in patients with acoustic neuroma, which can return to the normal level in 12 months. The diameter of tumor is one of important factors influencing the early and long-term prognosis of postoperative fa?cial nerve function.