The authors present the results of acoustic neurinoma surgery in 61 elderly patients (age, > or = 65 years). All the patients were operated upon via the lateral suboccipital approach. Complete tumor removal was achieved in all but two patients. There was no operative mortality. Fifty-seven patients (93%) were independent of nursing assistance at the time of discharge from the hospital. Preservation of the facial nerve was achieved in 95% of the patients, and hearing was preserved in 41%. A risk analysis identified three factors exerting a significant influence on the outcome in these cases: the American Society of Anesthesiology score, the preoperative Karnofsky score, and the size of the tumor. The patients' age was not correlated with the postoperative outcome. These results suggest that, in the majority of elderly patients with acoustic tumors, complete tumor removal can be achieved safely and with minimal postoperative morbidity. Preoperative clinical, neurological, and radiological factors can be helpful in the selection of patients for surgical treatment and may predict postoperative outcome.