Investigation of patients presenting with cerebellopontine angle syndromes

Abstract

Many neuroradiological procedures are available for the elucidation of lesions presenting with clinical evidence of a cerebellopontine angle syndrome. For 10 years we have favoured plain skull rays, sometimes supplemented by gamma encephalography, followed by angiography and have uncommonly needed further information from other contrast studies before operation. The innocuous value of computed tomography (C.T.) made it necessary to consider modification of this routine which had been found to be very satisfactory in routine practice. To obtain precise information on the diagnostic reliability and complications of the method we reviewed a large consecutive series of patients presenting with angle lesions. The radiological signs in such cases have been described many times and are well known, but our findings in a single comprehensive series emphasize the value of the method and are presented in a review. The modifications induced by CT are discussed.