Anybody have actual good results?

[Martha G]

I am a 57 yr old woman who was diagnosed 5 years ago with an intralabyrinthine schwannoma. I am in excellent health and exercise daily. I have severe tinnitus, somewhat severe vertigo with a few recent incidents of nystagmus and occasionally I have some pain. I have no hearing in my right ear even with the use of an hearing aid
In October 2010 the tumor was 5mm in length.  November 2011 it measured 7.6 mm transverse and 1.3 mm anterior-posterior.  The last MRI indicates a measurement of 8.7.
I am seeing Dr. Jennifer Maw in San Jose, CA. Dr.Maw  has in the past suggested a watch and wait plan. Or she said I could have the tumor removed surgically if it is bothering me so much that it is affecting my quality of life. This is bothersome because I understand the recovery period can be quite long.
I am waiting to hear from Dr. Chang at Stanford to see if I am a candidate for the CyperKnife surgery. I'm also going to see Dr. Blevins at Stanford for another opinion.
I am told removal would mean months of PT to regain my balance but even with therapy I would probably not be able to walk on uneven surfaces. Being an avid hiker and skier this would affect my quality of life so I am hesitant to do anything. Hopefully the docs at Stanford will have a plan.

[michellef08]

I know this is an old post, but I had great results!

I had my 1.4cm tumor removed 2 years ago with Middle Fossa with Dr. Friedman and Schwartz at House. They completely preserved my hearing (only had about 10% hearing loss pre-op), and had no facial or balance issues whatsoever! I was back to work in 6 weeks, and haven't looked back! My advice is to stay positive, do as much research as you can handle, seek the advice of specialists who have a lot of experience with our rare ANs, and make the decision that feels right for you!

[bushirene]

I hope your surgery went well!

I had AN removed in 1992, at that time I had 2 surgeries because after the first I started leaking cerebral spinal fluid from my nose and the doctor had to go in and fix the leaks.

Other than that the only things that really were left over was that I am  deaf in my right ear, my balance is not good, and I have very occasional head and neck aches. 

I never bothered with a hearing aid because I can hear fine (unless there are distractions like loud music, talking or water running).  Only thing is I cannot tell what direction the sound is coming from, which is annoying sometimes.

I hope things work out well for you too!