In an article published in 2008 in the journal Acta Neurochirurgica (Volume 150; pp. 655-661), neurosurgeons from Taiwan reported their experience with vestibular neurectomy for the treatment of intractable vertigo associated with Meniere's disease. The study subjects consisted of 73 patients with Meniere's disease who continued to experience incapacitating vertigo after failure of more conservative treatments such as diet control, diuretics, and vasodilator medications. In all 73 cases, the Meniere's disease affected only one ear (unilateral) and the patients were either unable to work or had severe limitations in their daily activities due to intractable vertigo. All of these patients underwent a vestibular neurectomy procedure during a 7-year period from 1995 to 2002. Twelve of the 73 patients had previously undergone endolymphatic sac surgery for Meniere's disease but had failed to achieve relief from their vertigo spells. After undergoing vestibular neurectomy, the patients were followed-up for a period of 5-12 years with an average follow-up of 9 years.

The authors of the study reported the following major findings regarding the effectiveness of vestibular neurectomy for the treatment of intractable vertigo associated with Meniere's disease:

Vertigo Control - At 2-years after surgery, vertigo was completely controlled in 100% of the patients.

Hearing Preservation - Hearing was preserved to within 10dB of the preopertive pure-tone thresholds in 92% of patients at 1-month after surgery. None of the patients experienced a significant level of hearing impairing after surgery.

Functional Ability - All of the patients showed an improvement in their level of functional ability after surgery which became stable at 2-years postsurgery.

Tinnitus - All of the patients had experienced tinnitus (ringing in the ears) before the surgery. After surgery, tinnitus disappeared completely in 11 patients and improved in another 16 patients. Only 2 patients experienced a worsening of their tinnitus after vestibular neurectomy, although their vertigo was well-controlled.

In summary, this study demonstrated that vestibular neurectomy is an effective treatment for intractable vertigo associated with Meniere's disease with a high level of hearing preservation. This surgical treatment option, however, should only be considered for patients who fail to respond to all conservative treatments for Meniere's disease as well as those who fail to respond to endolymphatic sac surgery.