Giant posterior mediastinal schwannoma requiring a thoracoabdominal approach for excision: Case report and literature review

Abstract

Background: A schwannoma is a tumor of the peripheral nerve sheath. They are the most common benign tumor; presenting at any age, and at any site of the body and also one of the most common posterior mediastinal tumors. Posterior mediastinal schwannoma is usually identified incidentally in chest radiographs and with followup imaging such as CT scan. Large posterior mediastinal schwannoma usually presents with local symptoms. To confirm diagnosis and obtain local control, surgical excision is the usual approach. Case Description: Here, we present a case of a 56-year-old female who presented with chronic low back pain. The lesion was picked up on an ultrasound scan to look at her kidneys. She was not experiencing any neurological symptoms. Excision of the tumor was made through a right thoracoabdominal approach. A WHO Grade 1 tumor was diagnosed on histology. There were no signs of recurrence in the follow-up scans. Conclusion: Giant posterior mediastinal schwanommas are very rare with only one other reported case requiring a thoracoabdominal approach for excision. Though giant schwanommas raise concern for malignancy due to their large size, they generally turn out to be benign.