By large I mean 4 cm x 2.8 cm (the third dimension isn't in the MRI report). Sorry I didn't mention it; all of the medical literature I've read classifies tumors with average diameters of 3 cm as "large," so I assumed the terminology was consistent.
On the insurance front, I am in the process of verifying whether other doctors at House (and other places) might actually be in my insurance network. They are not listed in the database of docs that's available to me as a patient. But obviously that requires verification. FWIW, when I talked with House today I told them about this issue and they seemed not a bit surprised that some of the doctors there would be in-network for me and some would not be.
And yes, experience is a primary concern for me. But I'm also trying to take the insurance thing into account... and if all other things are equal, location might matter too, in terms of being around family for support.
Some other details that might help... the size of my tumor, where it's placed and what structures it's impacting (shifting the brain stem, not involved in the IAC) indicate I need a retrosigmoid approach. House appears to have a good reputation for doing this surgery, especially in regard to the headache thing, but I'm trying to figure out why that is. Is it a specific surgical technique, like a CSF drain or how they patch up the skull after surgery?
I have very few symptoms, which I think provides an opportunity for a really good surgeon to have a big impact on my case. Yes, my tumor is large and my hearing is probably going to go on my right side, but someone with expertise might be able to fix me up with very little in the way of other side effects (facial stuff, balance).
Time is somewhat of the essence here, since I'd like to get this done as soon as possible while also allowing for some accurate research and decision making. My tumor's big enough that it makes sense to operate now, plus if I can do the surgery during the summer I might be able to miss less work in the fall. That's not the most important thing here, but just one other thing to consider.
If there's any other information that would help, I'd be glad to provide it. Thanks for responding to my post!