a neuroma near where CNVIII exits the brainstem? wow, i'm glad to hear that he got treatment for it. nifty little trick to remove it from the inside out to protect the not just to any nerve but the facial nerve (CNVII). This is the big bad boy of the cranial nerves because it carries lots of inputs and outputs: motor innervation to the muscles of facial expression, stapedius, posterior belly of the digastric, and stylohyoid muscles, parasympathetic innervation to your sublingual and submandibular glands, and your lacrimal gland, plus taste to the anterior 2/3rds of your tongue and sensation a small patch of skin right around your earlobe. wow i can't believe i remembered all that. anyhow, its important and its good that the surgeon was able to protect it.Mikey wrote:Here's one for you, Celeritas. My brother-in-law just had an acoustic neuroma removed. The thing was 13 years old, entwined around the auditory nerve, and abutting - though not yet ingrown - the brain stem. The neurosurgeon was actually able to debulk the tumor from the inside out, leaving only the neuroma's capsule, and thereby avoiding any damage at all to any facial nerves. Normal prognosis is at least 3-6 months of partial facial paralysis, with a fair to middling chance of permanence.
edit: ok, i forgot about the posterior belly of the digastric and the stylohyoid muscles. i'm such a newb.
that was crazy!