title: Primary tracheal schwannoma: one case report and a literature review.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, University Hospital, 38043, Grenoble Cedex 09, France. CRighini@chu-grenoble.fr
authors.forename: Christian Adrien
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Righini
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lequeux
authors.forename: Marie-Hélène
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Laverierre
authors.forename: Emile
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reyt
mesh_terms: 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*