Complications of Surgery of the Cerebellopontine Angle

The complications of surgery of the cerebellopontine angle are very well documented. There have been multiple publications of large series detailing experiences with cerebrospinal fluid leak, meningitis, and damage to the facial nerve, trigeminal nerve, and the lower cranial nerves. Stroke and mortality rate, very low these days, have also been extensively reported.

There has been less emphasis on rarer complications, including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolus, latera sinus thrombosis, sagittal sinus thrombosis, the low sodium syndrome, and pneumoencephalocele. The author has 30 years' experience of surgery of tumors of the cerebellopontine angle, in excess of 1,000 cases all told. The overall complication rate and means of prevention are discussed. These are compared with the complications encountered when no surgery is undertaken and an expectant policy is instituted. There are over 160 such cases in this series, with the longest follow-up being 10 years.