[Giant schwannoma in the pelvic cavity presenting as renal failure: a case report]

A case of giant schwannoma in the pelvic cavity detected with renal failure is reported. A 50-year-old man was referred to another clinic with chief complaints of general fatigue and edema of the face and dorsa of the feet. On March the 4th 1994, he was hospitalized in the clinic because of renal failure. Bilateral hydronephrosis and a giant pelvic tumor were found by computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography. Because bilateral percutaneous nephrostomies failed to recover his renal function, he was referred to our clinic for the purpose of hemodialysis and the further examination of the tumor on March 16, 1994. The pelvic angiography showed that the tumor was fed by the vessel from the left internal iliac artery. After the chemo-embolization from the feeding artery, tumor resection was performed on May 9, 1994. The tumor was 16x13x10 cm in size, and 1,110 g in weight. The histological findings of the tumor revealed the mixed type schwannoma of Antoni A and B. Six months after the operation, he has had no tumor recurrence. This is a rare case of pelvic schwannoma which was detected with renal failure. We reviewed and discussed 56 cases of schwannoma in the pelvic cavity, including our case, in the Japanese literature.