title: Intraparenchymal schwannoma of the medulla oblongata. Case report.
abstract: A 48-year-old man presented with a rare intraparenchymal schwannoma of the medulla oblongata. After he underwent gamma knife surgery, the patient's condition deteriorated and the mass, which at the time was thought to be a glioma, became larger on magnetic resonance images. The mass was resected through a suboccipital craniectomy via the transcerebellomedullary fissure approach. The tumor, which was moderately firm but distinct from the surrounding parenchyma, was removed totally. Postoperative histological and immunohistochemical examinations confirmed the diagnosis of a benign schwannoma. Brainstem schwannomas can be cured by microneurosurgery. It is important to distinguish these tumors from glioma. The main theories on the cause(s) of this lesion are briefly reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Shapingba District, Chongqing, People's Republic of China. jklin2002@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Jiangkai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Bingmei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Qiaonan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*