Schwannoma of the mastoid part of the facial nerve

Summary Facial nerve schwannoma is a rare benign tumour, which originates from the neural sheath of Schwann cells. Schwannoma can affect any part of the nerve from the cerebellopontine angle to the distal extratemporal segment. Intratemporal localization of the tumour is the most common. Localization of the tumour and the extent of nerve affliction are reflected in clinical symptomatology of schwannoma. The case presented is of a patient with facial nerve schwannoma propagating to the external auditory canal, which manifested clinically by progressive facial nerve paralysis. The correct dia­gnosis was made years later because another etiology (stroke) was considered to be the cause of the paresis at first. Key words facial nerve schwannoma – facial nerve paresis