Ocular tilt reaction resulting from vestibuloacoustic nerve surgery

Neurosurgery. 1993 Mar;32(3):417-20; discussion 420-1. doi: 10.1227/00006123-199303000-00013.

Abstract

The ocular tilt reaction (OTR) is a triad of head-eye synkinesis composed of head tilt, conjugate ocular torsion in the direction of head tilt, and skew deviation. The OTR represents a normal compensatory response to lateral head tilts and is produced by activation of the utricle of the lowermost ear. A pathological OTR results when otolith activity is unopposed as the result of injury to the opposite utricle or its nerve. Vertical diplopia may be the only symptom of OTR in patients who have undergone surgery involving the vestibuloacoustic nerve. We report a series of patients with OTR after surgery for acoustic neuroma or Meniere's disease. In each patient, the manifesting symptom was vertical diplopia. Bedside neuro-ophthalmological testing readily excluded a brain stem cause for the double vision. We conclude that OTR after vestibuloacoustic surgery is a benign condition with spontaneous resolution of symptoms within several months.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Auditory Pathways / physiopathology
  • Auditory Pathways / surgery
  • Brain Stem / physiopathology
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Diplopia / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Meniere Disease / physiopathology
  • Meniere Disease / surgery*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neurologic Examination
  • Neuroma, Acoustic / physiopathology
  • Neuroma, Acoustic / surgery*
  • Ocular Motility Disorders / physiopathology*
  • Postoperative Complications / physiopathology*
  • Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular / physiology*
  • Saccule and Utricle / innervation*
  • Vestibular Nerve / physiopathology
  • Vestibular Nerve / surgery*
  • Vestibulocochlear Nerve / physiopathology
  • Vestibulocochlear Nerve / surgery*