Cervical vagal schwannoma. A case report.

Abstract

Schwannoma originating from the cervical vagus nerve is an extremely rare neoplasm. Vagal nerve schwannoma usually occurs between the third and fifth decades of life, it does not show sex predilection both sexes being equally affected and it most often presents as a painless, slow-growing, lateral neck mass. The treatment of choice is complete surgical excision with preservation of the neural pathway, when it is possible. These tumours, in fact, are almost always benign and a conservative surgical approach is emphasized by most of the Authors. A case of a cervical vagal schwannoma, in a 33-year old male with a previous medical history of malignant lymphoma, is described. The clinical features, diagnosis, management and pathological findings of cervical vagal schwannoma are discussed.