Laparoscopic resection of a retroperitoneal ancient schwannoma: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Schwannomas are benign tumors that arise from neural sheath Schwann cells. Solitary benign schwannomas are generally located in the head and neck, often along the cranial nerves, and are a particularly rare neoplasm among tumors of the retroperitoneal space. A 67-year-old man undergoing a general health check was incidentally found to have a mass beside the left kidney. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a cystic adrenal mass located cephalad to the left kidney. Retroperitoneoscopic resection of the retroperitoneal mass was performed. The pathological diagnosis was retroperitoneal benign schwannoma consisting of mixture of a Antoni-A and -B type cells. We report a case of retroperitoneal schwannoma and discuss eleven previous reports treated by laparoscopic surgery in the English literature. Laparoscopic resection may be useful because a retroperitoneal schwannoma, which is commonly localized and hypovascular, can easily be dissected from the adjacent tissues.