title: Schwannoma of the cervical esophagus: Report of 2 cases and a review of the literature.
abstract: Schwannomas of the cervical esophagus are extremely rare, as fewer than a dozen reports have been published in the literature. Therefore, their clinical characteristics and management have not been definitively elucidated. We report 2 cases of cervical esophageal schwannoma (CES) in which the patients-a 52-year-old woman and a 53-year-old woman-were initially misdiagnosed clinically. The correct diagnosis was later established on the basis of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and intraoperative frozen-section analysis. In both cases, the tumor was enucleated, and the esophagus was closed by primary intention. Both patients resumed an oral diet 2 weeks postoperatively. Follow-up detected no evidence of recurrence. Our review of the literature revealed that CES is a benign mesenchymal tumor that can be misdiagnosed both clinically and pathologically. Preoperative contrast-enhanced CT and intraoperative frozen-section analysis help in the planning for conservative enucleation, which precludes the need for esophageal resection and its associated morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Long
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jian-Guang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wen-Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Yong-Xue
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Guo-Hua
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Kuan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qing-Hai
authors.initials: QH
authors.lastname: Ji
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004945:Esophagoscopy; D005260:Female; D005629:Frozen Sections; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D010784:Photomicrography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed