Outcomes of surgery for schwannomas of the upper extremity

<b>Introduction:</b> Schwannoma is a nerve tumor originating from Schwann-cells of the nerve sheath. It is found in all body regions, the most frequent in the head, neck and in the extremities. </br></br> <b>Aim:</b> The objective of this study was analysis of outcomes of surgery for these lesions in the authors' institution. </br></br> <b>Materials and methods:</b> Results of the treatment of 12 patients, 7 women and 5 men, aged a mean of 40 years with shwannomas localized in the upper limb are presented. The follow-up assessment was performed in a form of telephone interview at a mean of 4.2 years post-operatively. </br></br> <b>Results:</b> The tumors were located in the hand in 5 patients, in the forearm in other 5 and in the wrist in 2. In 3 patients the tumors originated form the median, in 2 from the ulnar and in 2 from the radial nerves; in 5 cases it grew from small nerve branches. All lesions of the median, ulnar and radial nerves were encapsulated without damage of the nerve fascicles, while in the hand they were resected in total. At a mean of 4.2 years of follow-up, two recurrences (17%) occurred, both following resection of the tumor located in the hand. Complications were noted in 5 patients: two felt parasthesiae in the operated finger, two were disappointed due to unaesthetic scar and one patient following tumor resection from posterior interosseous nerve had incomplete finger extension. </br></br> <b>Conclusion:</b> Outcomes of surgery for these rare tumors are generally good, but functional deficits should be considered in cases of lesions involving motoric nerves.