title: Giant schwannoma of the lumbar spine. A case report.
abstract: Giant "invasive" schwannomas of the spine occur occasionally, most frequently in the lumbar region. We present the case of a 46-year-old woman with giant "invasive" schwannoma of the lumbar spine, with a 12-year history of illness. The tu-mour originated in the vertebral canal and passed through the paraspinal muscles and retroperitoneal area to the abdominal cavity. The part of the tumour which was in the abdominal cavity was removed by means of laparotomy during the first operation. In the second one, the remaining part of the tumour was removed completely from the vertebral canal and retroperitoneal area through posterior-lateral access. The spine was stabilized with metal implants. Histological examination revealed cellular schwannoma. During the follow-up the pain resolved while paresis of the right quadriceps muscle of the thigh was still present. Cellular schwannoma is a benign form of schwannoma, but it may cause a local recurrence if not removed completely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery and Nurotraumatology, University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland. klinikanch@op.pl
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jankowski
authors.forename: Jacek
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szmeja
authors.forename: Stanisław
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Bartosz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sokół
authors.forename: Tomasz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Blok
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011859:Radiography; D035583:Rare Diseases; D013123:Spinal Fusion; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome