A Curious Case of Common Peroneal Nerve Schwannoma

Schwannoma or neurilemmoma is a slow-growing tumor that develops from nerve sheaths. It is mostly benign and only rarely transforms into malignancy. The incidence of schwannoma is very low in the lower limbs. Schwannomas developing from the common peroneal nerve is unlikely. A middle-aged male presented with complaints of left knee pain, which was radiating to the left foot, and a painful swelling at the back of the knee. An intralesional excision was done, and the patient made a full recovery with no postoperative complications. The excised specimen was found to be a schwannoma of the common peroneal nerve of the left leg. At the one-month, three-month, and one-year postoperative follow-ups, the patient had no complaints of pain on passive and active dorsiflexion of the foot. There was complete recovery from paresthesia and intact sensation was present. This report shows that asymptomatic schwannomas can sometimes present with symptoms of pain. In such cases, careful and complete excision of the schwannoma can lead to full recovery.