Primary tracheal schwannoma: one case report and a literature review.
We report a case of primary tracheal schwannoma causing symptoms of airway obstruction in a 51-year-old woman. There was no history of pulmonary disease. The patient had been coughing and suffering from progressive dyspnea for over 1 year. Medical treatment with bronchodilatators had no effect. Computerized tomography and bronchoscopy demonstrated a polypoid mass located inside the trachea's cervical segment, obstructing 50% of the lumen. A biopsy was not attempted because of the tumor's vascularity to avoid bleeding. Tracheal resection with primary anastomosis was performed. The diagnosis was confirmed with histological analysis. It revealed a benign neurogenic tumor of Schwann's cell origin. Schwannoma of the trachea is extremely rare. Only 23 cases have been reported previously. Most of them occur in adults (19/23, 82.6%) and are located in the lower trachea. They usually have a long natural history, causing symptoms only after they have attained a large size. The treatment of choice is surgical removal.
Righini
Christian Adrien
CA
ENT Department, University Hospital, 38043, Grenoble Cedex 09, France. CRighini@chu-grenoble.fr
Lequeux
Thomas
T
Laverierre
Marie-Hélène
MH
Reyt
Emile
E
D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000209:etiology; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014132:Trachea / Q000601:surgery; D014134:Tracheal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*