Huge cervical extradural schwannoma presenting as C2-C5 vertebral body lesion: A rare case report and literature review

Abstract

Schwannoma of the cervical spine is extremely rare and invasion and osteolytic expansion of the vertebral body have been uncommonly noted in the cervical spine. We review imaging findings and briefly discuss the surgical strategies in managing vertebral invasions of cervical schwannomas. A 27-year-old female patient was admitted for a progressive left cervical mass 8 months ago. She had a fine needle aspiration cytologic examination 3 months ago, which did not establish any diagnosis. The tumor was successfully resected using an anterior approach with in situ posterior fusion. Histologic examination of the resected specimen revealed the tumor to be schwannoma. Patient was asymptomatic with no recurrence at 1-year clinical and radiologic follow-up. Schwannoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of large, extradural mass causing expansion and destruction of the spine. Aggressive surgical management may provide good clinical outcome. آ© 2010 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.