What is called Cerebellopontine angle tumour ?
A Tumour is an abnormal or undesired growth of Mass any-where in the body which can be malignant or benign. Malignancy means spreading to other areas, which might be fatal sometimes. Cerebellopntine angle is located in the lateral area of the brain.
CPA Tumours usually are confined to the area of cerebellopntine angle. It is a space or angle between cerebellum and Pons, containing spinal fluid. This area is prone to growth of tumours such as Schwannomas, Acoustic Neuroma, Meningioma, Epidermoid, Cerebral astrcytoma, Metastases, Glomus jugulare . They usually appear within the parenchyma area or outside the parenchyma area and affect the cranial nerves.
Some common signs and symptoms :
Frequent headaches,hearing disturbances, ringing of the ears, facial numbness. These symptoms appear gradually and can be detected only when tumours grow and disrupt the functioning vital structures in the brain. Patients with large tumours may develop Bruns nystagmus as the flocculli gets compressed, resulting in vision problems.
How to diagnose CPA tumor ?
Though it was very difficult to diagnose in the early-stages, nowadays it has become more easier with the advancement of medical technology. MRI brain is a good scan to diagnose CPA tumors. Another technique put to use to diagnose CPA tumors is computer tomography (CT). These imaging modalities can create detailed images of the brain for the surgeons to focus and evaluate the extent of brain damage and decide the further course of action.
The Line of treatment adopted
The treatment is in two types. One is Surgery and the other is radiation therapy. Surgery is removal of tumour or most of the lesions.
Radiation therapy is targeted to arrest the growth of the tumour.
The treatment mainly depends on the evaluation of diagnostics by expert neurosurgeons that analyse the pros and cons so as to suit the needs of the individual based on one’s general health status.
Radiation therapy is mainly used to treat CPA tumours located in areas of brain where surgical removal is considered unsafe. Radiation therapy kills tumour cells in the target area.
After surgery :
Expert and caring team of doctors, physicians, nurses and assistants at KIMS who are specially trained in neurology and critical care will help the patient recover. Before the patient leaves KIMS ensures, they provided detailed instructions about what do at home to get into their routine activities as soon as possible.
Side effects of the treatment :
Usually the side effects are minimal considering the pre and post hospitalization procedures and practices involved. The main side effect may be infection and minor side effects may include hearing disturbances and general weakness which may vary from case to case.
Infection may not usually occur at the place of surgery. Urine, bladder or lung infections may occur due to the immobility of the patient. We at KIMS minimise the risk by monitoring each and every aspect.
What’s the length of hospitalization and recovery time after surgery ?
When the surgeon performs biopsy, the hospitalization may be a day and the recovery is fast. More extensive procedures that involve removal of tumours involve longer hospital stays of 4-6 days and a longer recovery time 3-6 weeks.
Life after surgery :
An individual can normally perform all his day to day activities.
Doctors and staff :
You will find the most comprehensive, tailored treatment and therapy at KIMS by our dedicated, experienced, novel and noble team of Doctors, physicians, caretakers and attendants who take a resolve to give you a cost effective and permanent solution to CPA tumors.