The Acoustic Neuroma Program at Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery is dedicated to delivering advanced treatments to patients affected by these tumors. The multidisciplinary team, led by neurosurgeon Dr. Philip E. Stieg and neurotologist Dr. Samuel H. Selesnick, offers leading-edge treatments with options designed to preserve hearing.
Acoustic neuromas, also known as vestibular schwannomas, are tumors that arise from the eighth cranial nerve, which connects the ear to the brain. They are slow-growing tumors that can cause increasing symptoms as they progress, including hearing loss, tinnitus, dizziness, and facial numbness and paralysis. Acoustic neuromas are not cancerous, but they must be treated before they grow so large that they compress vital structures like the cerebellum and the brain stem, where they could eventually become life-threatening.
Older surgical treatments for acoustic neuromas were often guaranteed to cause hearing loss in the affected ear, but new advanced treatment options have a greater chance of preserving hearing while also relieving symptoms and preventing or slowing the progression of the tumor. At the Weill Cornell Medicine Acoustic Neuroma Program, we offer stereotactic radiosurgery as an option, along with advanced microsurgical techniques that are less likely to cause hearing loss than older surgical approaches. Advanced intraoperative monitoring of auditory function as we perform surgery also improves the chances of preserving hearing.
The physicians of the Acoustic Neuroma Program are also expert diagnosticians with access to advanced MRI techniques that allow for earlier diagnosis. Small tumors, diagnosed earlier, are much easier to treat and have better outcomes than those that expand outside the internal auditory canal, where they originate. Our experts evaluate each patient and recommend the best course of treatment based on a variety of factors, with the goal of achieving the best possible outcome.
To make an appointment for an evaluation with one of the specialists of the Acoustic Neuroma Program, please call Dr. Stieg’s office at 212-746-4684 or Dr. Selesnick’s office at 646-962-3277. You may also use our online form to request an appointment.
