Extradural giant thoracic schwannoma in a pediatric patient; a case report

Abstract

Introduction: Giant extradural thoracic schwannomas are very rare tumors in the pediatric age group and often occur together with neurofibromatosis. Giant schwannomas span across more than two vertebral segments and have an extraspinal extension of over 2.5 cm. In this case, we report on a 5-year-old boy with a purely extradural giant schwannoma without accompanying neurofibromatosis.

Clinical presentation: A 5-year-old male patient was admitted to the orthopedics and traumatology outpatient clinic with complaints of difficulty in walking following waist and left leg pain after falling from a chair. Contrast-enhanced spinal MRI and cranial MRI showed an extradural spinal lesion measuring 22 × 18 × 35 mm that pushed the spinal cord to the right at the T10-12 level and extended into the left foramen at the T11-12 level. The patient was operated. The tumor was removed completely by performing bilateral laminoplasty at the T10-11-12 levels. Histopathology result reported schwannoma.

Conclusion: Giant schwannomas are slow-growing tumors that rarely occur in childhood. In these patients, spinal traumas can lead to serious neurological deficits. Early diagnosis and successful surgery can prevent permanent neurological damage.

Keywords: Giant extradural schwannoma; Neurofibromatosis; Pediatric spinal tumors; Spinal trauma.