A Case of Benign Esophageal Schwannoma Causing Life-threatening Tracheal Obstruction

A 59-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of dysphagia. She suffered from a large mediastinal mass obstructing trachea and bilateral main bronchus, which led to dyspnea and disturbed consciousness. Immediate intubation and surgery was required. A solid tumor that included esophagus and right vagal nerve, and adhered to the membranous part of the bronchus was found. However, the tumor could be resected en bloc and the patient has been free from recurrence. Pathologically, the tumor exhibited proliferative spindle cells and was diffusely positive for S-100 protein. It was therefore diagnosed as a benign esophageal schwannoma. To our knowledge, this is the first report of tracheal obstruction from a benign esophageal schwannoma, which we successfully treated with emergency subtotal esophagectomy.