Postoperative headache after vestibular schwannoma surgery

At a mean of almost 8 years following treatment, approximately half of patients with vestibular schwannoma experience headaches of varying frequency and severity. Patient-driven factors including age, sex, mental health, and preexisting headache syndrome are the strongest predictors of long-term severe headache disability. Tumor size and treatment modality have less impact. These data may assist with patient counseling regarding long-term expectations following diagnosis and treatment ¹⁾.

Methylmethacrylate cranioplasty as part of the closure following suboccipital craniectomy for vestibular schwannoma reduced the incidence of post-op headache from 17% to 4% ²⁾.