Do you know......

[Jwh]

if you need an MRI specific to the IAC with contrast to find an AN?  Can you have a brain MRI with contrast and an AN be overlooked?  I'm asking for a friend who has had problems with her ear.  I've already had two AN's removed via surgery but don't know if a brain MRI with contrast would pick one up.

Thanks!

[CHD63]

An MRI of the brain with contrast should show an AN, unless it is very, very tiny still.  MRIs can be done with different sizes of slices, but I would think if an AN is suspected, it would be done with small enough slices to catch even a small AN.

My 2.0 cm AN showed up like a lightbulb ..... no missing one that size or larger.  But a 1 or 2 mm one would be much more difficult to see by an untrained eye.

Did your friend have an MRI and nothing was found?

Clarice

[TJ]

When mine was found it was between 3-5 mm, so an MRI with contrast should show it if it is there.

TJ

[leapyrtwins]

I'm not really sure.  All my MRIs - both my diagnostic one and the subsequent ones done post op - have been of the IAC.

They were all done with gadolinium contrast.  In addition, the post op MRIs were done with fat suppression - since I have fat in my head from a fat graph during my AN surgery.

If it were my friend, I'd recommend she consult with a neurotologist and ask him/her this question.

Jan