A Case Report of a Rare Mesenteric Schwannoma: A Diagnostic Challenge

Schwannomas, also known as neurilemmomas, are neurogenic, benign tumors of Schwann cells arising from peripheral nerve sheaths that may be present at almost any anatomical site. A primary mesenteric schwannoma is an extremely rare tumor, with only 12 cases reported in the literature to date. Preoperative diagnosis of mesenteric schwannomas is almost impossible because of the rarity of the case and their nonspecific symptoms. Instead, we made the diagnosis postoperatively using histopathological examination (HPE) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) following the complete surgical resection of the mass. We present the case of a 39-year-old female with painless, progressively increasing abdominal mass for two years. Her preoperative clinical diagnosis was inconclusive, and a diagnosis of a primary mesenteric schwannoma was made after HPE and IHC reports following en bloc resection of the mass.