Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2015 Jan-Jun;6(1):267-71.
doi: 10.4103/0976-9668.149229.

Infra-orbital nerve schwannoma: Report and review

Nilesh Kumar  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Infra-orbital nerve schwannoma: Report and review

Nilesh Kumar. J Nat Sci Biol Med. 2015 Jan-Jun.

Abstract

Extra-cranial schwannomas although common in head and neck region are very rarely seen originating from the infra-orbital nerve. We report a case of schwannoma arising from infra-orbital nerve in a 40-year-old male patient. The case presented as an isolated, asymptomatic, slow growing sub-cutaneous nodular swelling over left side of mid-face. On ultrasonography, a localized lesion within the sub-cutaneous tissue of cheek was observed, without involvement of orbital, maxillary sinus or underlying bone. Aspiration biopsy of the lesion showed spindle shaped cells predominantly arranged in Antoni A pattern around verocay bodies, with less organized Antoni B tissue in few places. Diagnosis of schwannoma, probably arising from terminal branch of infra-orbital nerve was established. The tumor was approached through skin incision. At the time of exploration, the lesion was found to emanate from the nerve trunk of peripheral branch of infra-orbital nerve, which was dissected and preserved. We correlate our experience with previously reported cases of infra-orbital nerve schwannoma.

Keywords: Infra-orbital nerve; mid-face; schwannoma; swelling.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Lesion presenting as large sub-cutaneous nodular swelling
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ultrasonogram showing a heterogeneous oval mass within the sub-cutaneous tissue
Figure 3
Figure 3
H and E stained section of aspirate showing verocay bodies (arrow head) surrounded by spindle shaped cells arranged in orderly parallel fashion (arrows)
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Exposure of the lesion through skin incision; (b) dissected tumor attached to the nerve trunk of peripleral branch of infra-orbital nerve (block arrow)
Figure 5
Figure 5
H and E stained section (×10) of excised specimen showing spindle shaped cells predominantly arranged in Antoni A pattern around verocay bodies (black arrow), with less organized Antoni B tissue in few places (red arrow). Vessel in schwannoma having wide lumen, fibrotic wall and adjacent hyalinization (blue arrow)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Marx RE, Stern D. United States Quintessence Publishing Co. Inc. 2nd ed 2003. Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology: A Rationale for Diagnosis and Treatment.
    1. Samet A, Podoshin L, Fradis M, Simon J, Lazarov N, Boss H. Unusual sites of schwannoma in the head and neck. J Laryngol Otol. 1985;99:523–8. - PubMed
    1. Choi BH, Park SW, Son JH, Cho YC, Sung IY, Byun KJ, et al. Schwannoma in the maxillary sinus and buccal space: Case report. J Korean Assoc Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2009;35:494–8.
    1. Yoon E, Rhee SC. Solitary trigeminal schwannoma of paranasal region. Int J Pediatric Otorhinolaryngol Extra 01. 2007;2:120–4.
    1. Leu YS, Chang KC. Extracranial head and neck schwannomas: A review of 8 years experience. Acta Otolaryngol. 2002;122:435–7. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources