BACKGROUND: Facial nerve schwannomas can extend to the middle fossa or the cerebellopontine angle through the labyrinthine and cisternal segments of the facial nerve. The middle fossa approach (MFA) and its extensions provide a wide approach to deal with a large variety of lesions located in the middle and posterior cranial fossa junction. METHODS: We describe the MFA along with its advantages and limitations to treat a facial nerve schwannoma involving the middle and posterior cranial fossa. CONCLUSIONS: The MFA is a well-established route to surgically deal with tumors located in and around the proximal four segments of the facial nerve.

Department of Neurosurgery Alicante General University Hospital Alicante Institute of Health and Biomedical Research Avda Pintor Baeza sn 03010 Alicante Spain

Department of Neurosurgery and Neurooncology Military University Hospital and Charles University 1st Medical Faculty Prague Czech Republic

Department of Neurosurgery University Hospital of Lausanne and UNIL Lausanne Switzerland

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