Extracranial non-vestibular head and neck schwannomas

To retrospectively describe our 10-year experience with extracranial non-vestibular head and neck schwannomas by presenting their clinical features, diagnostic methods, surgical decisions, and treatment outcomes.

This is a retrospective study conducted at the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Shanghai First People's Hospital, Shanghai, China. The medical records of 46 patients diagnosed with schwannoma in the extracranial head and neck region as confirmed on paraffin-embedded sections from January 2003 to December 2012 were reviewed.

All tumors were benign, and 52% presented as asymptomatic palpable solitary masses. Compressive symptoms, which can represent meaningful indicators of the nerve of origin were commonly noted. The most common nerve of origin was the brachial plexus (n=13, 28.3%).

While postoperative histopathologic examination is still the gold standard, fine needle aspiration cytology, CT scan, and magnetic resonance imaging may be useful in the diagnosis of schwannomas. As schwannomas are radioresistant, and as, despite their benign nature, can cause severe secondary symptoms, the best treatment of choice is complete excision with preservation of functions.