Young pregnant woman with mild dysphagia: Diagnostic and treatment workup predicting laryngeal schwannoma

Abstract

Schwannomas of the larynx are uncommon, they represent the 0.1-1.5% of all the benign laryngeal tumours. Patients usually report multiple symptoms related to mass-effects and their treatment of choice is surgical excision. We present the case of a young woman presenting a schwannoma within her left false vocal fold, not suitable for endoscopic surgical approach. The suspected diagnosis of schwannoma was confirmed by the final histopathological report, showing a protein S110 positivity at the immunohistochemistry staining. Complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice and can be performed by either transoral or external approach depending on lesion dimension, patient’s laryngeal exposure and surgeon’s skills. In both cases we do suggest a conservative approach.