Retroperitoneal schwannoma mimicking hepatic tumor in the caudate lobe

We report a 41-year-old woman with a retroperitoneal schwannoma mimicking hepatic tumor in the caudate lobe. Dynamic computed tomography in the early phase showed an enhanced tumor (2.7 cm in diameter) in the Spiegel lobe of the liver, which compressed the inferior vena cava (IVC). We also performed left hepatic angiographic computed tomography, and found that the tumor was less enhanced. The patient underwent laparotomy under a preoperative diagnosis of primary hepatic caudate tumor with faint neovascularity. At surgery, the tumor was found to be located between the left caudate lobe and the IVC, and was resected as being of a retroperitoneal origin. This case illustrates that tumor location must be determined with great care when the mass seems to exist at the dorsal edge of the liver, and especially when the tumor is hypovascular.