Jugular foramen schwannoma in a child treated with complete surgical excision.
BACKGROUND
A rare case of a large jugular foramen tumour presenting as a posterior fossa mass is described.


METHODS
The patient, a 13-year-old boy presented with symptoms of raised intracranial pressure and on MRI imaging demonstrated the tumour origin within the jugular foramen, with appearances suggestive of schwannoma. He underwent a complete excision as a single-stage procedure thorough a lateral suboccipital craniotomy with minimal morbidity. Histology confirmed the diagnosis of schwannoma (WHO I). Jugular foramen schwannoma is virtually unheard of in the paediatric population.


CONCLUSIONS
The differential diagnosis of a jugular foramen tumour includes tumours of the glomus jugulare, meningiomas, schwannomas, myxomas and chondrosarcomas. The imaging characteristics are important when considering this differential diagnosis.
Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Liverpool Children's Hospital, Liverpool, UK. rsangra@doctors.org.uk
Meharpal
M
Sangra
Conor
C
Mallucci
Barry
B
Pizer
D000293:Adolescent; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005925:Glomus Jugulare Tumor / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D015192:Infratentorial Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D007601:Jugular Veins; D008297:Male; D008579:Meningioma / Q000473:pathology; D009232:Myxoma / Q000473:pathology; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009777:Occipital Bone; D010579:Petrous Bone; D016896:Treatment Outcome