Enucleation of a Schwannoma with Median Nerve Preservation

Abstract

Schwannomas are benign, encapsulated, slow-growing and usually solitary tumours originating from Schwann cells of the peripheral nerve sheath. Approximately 25-40% of cases are seen in the head and neck region and they are the most common peripheral nerve tumor of the hand and upper extremity. We report a rare case of the median schwannoma in a woman who had symptoms of pain and paresthesias, she was treated with complete enucleation of the tumor, preserving median nerve, she presented moderate sensory and motor sequelae, however with rehabilitation with physical therapy at 6 months post-surgery the patient only presents mild sensitive sequelae. This kind of complete excision can be considered standard treatment for these tumours, with no recurrences.