Metachronous mediastinal and retroperitoneal schwannomas

Abstract

Schwannomas, also known as neurilemmoma, are neurogenic tumors that arise from the peripheral nerve sheaths. Forty-five percent of schwannomas occur in the head and neck, 9% in the mediastinum and 0.7-2.7% in the retroperitoneum. Multiple shwannomas are extremely rare.
We report the case of a 30-year old male patient with chest pain in the right hemithorax associated with pleural effusion due to schwannoma of the posterior mediastinum that was completely resected with video-assisted thoracoscopy. Three years later, he presented pain on the right lumbar region due to a retroperitoneal schwannoma behind the vena cava that was completely removed with open surgery.
We describe the tests used to evaluate this tumor and the histopathological findings confirming its benign nature.
Conclusion: Schwannoma is a rare condition with excellent postoperative outcome after complete surgical resection.