Laparoscopic partial cystectomy for schwannoma of urinary bladder: case report

Primary schwannomas of the urinary bladder are extremely rare. They arise from Schwann's cells in nerve sheaths and are often associated with von Recklinghausen's disease. In these cases, open partial cystectomy has been the choice of treatment. We performed laparoscopic partial cystectomy in a 35-year-old man who showed a 3.5-cm solid bladder mass on pelvic CT. The lesion was found to be a primary schwannoma of the urinary bladder without evidence of von Recklinghausen disease.