CASE REPORTS   

Rivista Italiana di Chirurgia Maxillo-Facciale 2003 August;14(2):93-5

Copyright © 2004 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Neurogenic tumor (schwannoma) of the brachial plexus

Longo F. ¹, Zupi A. ², Mangone G. M. ², Buono U. ², Califano L. ²

¹ Department of ENT-Head and Neck Surgery National Cancer Institute of Naples “Fondazione Pascale”, Naples, Italy 2 Department of Maxillofacial Surgery “Federico II” School of Medicine and Surgery University of Naples, Naples, Italy

Schwannoma of the bra­chi­al plex­us rep­re­sents a ­very unusu­al occur­rence. Microscopically, schwan­no­mas, ­which orig­i­nate ­from Schwann ­cells, are com­posed of dense­ly-­packed spin­dle ­cells or ­more loose­ly-tex­tured myx­oid stro­ma. Clinically, schwan­no­mas ­present ­only ­late symp­toms of neu­ral impair­ment. The imag­ing tech­niques and ­fine nee­dle aspi­ra­tion biop­sy ­allow to ­obtain a ­safe and cor­rect pre­op­er­a­tive diag­no­sis. Total ­tumor resec­tion is rec­om­mend­ed rath­er ­than pres­er­va­tion of the ­nerve bun­dle, and if com­plete enu­clea­tion is per­formed, no recur­rence ­should be expect­ed. A ­case of schwan­no­ma of the bra­chi­al plex­us ­observed at the Department of Maxillo-facial Surgery of the “Federico II” University of Naples is pre­sent­ed.