This article is only available in the PDF format. Download the PDF to view the article, as well as its associated figures and tables.
To the Editor.—Messina's article on computerized tomography (CT) of the head, which appeared in the September issue of the Archives (102:566-567, 1976) was interesting, but I must disagree with some of his comments and conclusions regarding the use of this examination in diagnosis of acoustic neuromas or cerebellopontine angle lesions.
First, at the present state of CT, accurate assessment of the size of the bony internal auditory canal is difficult and misleading.
Second, in the past several years, I've seen a number of patients with small acoustic neuromas who have had normal results of CT. In this regard, the size of the lesion is of utmost importance. If there is a tumor greater than 1 to 1.5 cm, then most likely CT will demonstrate it. If the lesion is smaller than this, however, one may well not see an abnormal CT scan. His article is misleading in its implication