Hi and welcome, Justin ~
I'm sorry to learn of your failed radiation treatment but it does occur, albeit fairly rarely, as you know. Small comfort when you become part of the statistic, I'm sure.
You seem to be quite knowledgeable regarding radiation treatments, which is a plus. You also have some issues (blind in one eye) that will complicate your decision. I won't venture any substantive suggestions because (a) I'm not a doctor and (b) in the final analysis, only you can decide on the best treatment for your AN, under the existing circumstances.
For whatever it may be worth, here is my AN story. I presented with a full-blown 4.5 cm AN in May, 2006. My neurosurgeon, a brilliant, compassionate physician, after considering my priority was to avoid facial paralysis, decided on a course of debulking followed by irradiation (FSR). He considered this approach would be the least destructive and had the best chance of succeeding while respecting my concerns regarding facial nerve damage. At the time, due to my procrastination in addressing my symptoms, I had effectively lost all hearing in my left ear, so hearing preservation was not a priority, although it was not ignored. Due to tumor location and placement (pressing hard against my brainstem) my neurosurgeon opted to use the Retrosigmoid approach for the debulking surgery. He also cut off the tumor's blood supply. The result was a successful operation with no complications that reduced the tumor from 4.5 cm to approximately 2.8 cm. My hearing did not improve, which was not a surprise, just a fond hope, at best. My surgical recovery was swift and complete. After a 90-day 'rest period', my neurosurgeon teamed with a radiation oncologist to 'map' my FSR, again stressing facial nerve protection. Under this treatment plan my remaining tumor received approximately 27gy of radiation over 26 separate sessions (about 40 minutes each). I experienced absolutely no ill effects from the radiation. Subsequent MRI scans showed tumor necrosis and some shrinkage within a year. My symptoms disappeared immediately following the surgery and today, 4 years later, I'm doing great. My only regret is being four years older. However my neurosurgeon stated that he couldn't fix that and that he had the same problem (he's about my age).
Frankly, you'll probably want to consult with a few neurosurgeons and radiation oncologists to reach a treatment decision but one constant will be that with ANs, there are no guarantees. Yes, surgery could cause real problems and so could radiation. That is an unavoidable risk. To avoid running into physician bias, try to consult doctors that perform both procedures. Most of all, only consider doctors with extensive AN experience. I believe that is crucial. I also believe my neurosurgeon's years of experience performing AN surgery was a major factor in my successful outcome. I hope you'll have a similar story a few weeks (or months) from now.
Jim