Nasal schwannoma: a case report and clinicopathologic analysis

According to the literature, half of the schwannoma cases occur in the head and neck areas and only less than 4% occur in the sinonasal tract. In this case, a 39-year-old male patient, with a-year-long progressive left side nasal obstruction and purulent rhinorrhea, is presented. The CT reveals a mass filling the left nasal cavity and nasopharyngeal space, with bony erosion of the inferior turbinate and medial maxillary bone. During surgical intervention, the mass is found to originate from the medial side of the left middle turbinate with maxillary sinusitis and inferior turbinate atrophy. The pathological examination reveals a noncapsulated tumor with palisading cellular arrangement and high cellular density. The pathological findings and nervous origin of the tumor are discussed after an extensive review of the literature.