Laryngeal Schwannoma: A Case Presentation and Review of the Mayo Clinic Experience

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to clarify the nature of laryngeal schwannomas through review of the experience of a single institution during a 104-year period.

Study design: This is a retrospective case series.

Methods: The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota clinical and surgical pathology database was reviewed for the years 1985-2011. Four cases of laryngeal schwannoma were identified. These cases were pooled with a previously published series of laryngeal schwannomas treated at our institution between 1907 and 1986. The characteristics of all 11 cases were studied, and relevant literature was reviewed.

Results: A total of 11 cases of schwannoma of the larynx were identified. The mean age at presentation was 48 years (range 12-73 years). The most common presenting symptoms were dysphonia and dysphagia. The most frequently involved primary site was the false vocal fold (six patients), followed by the aryepiglottic fold (three), epiglottis (two), subglottis (two), ventricle (one), true vocal fold (one) and postcricoid region (one). The mean maximal tumor diameter was 2.5 cm. In all but one case, surgical excision was curative with no recurrence during recorded follow up ranging from 1 to 17 years.

Conclusions: Laryngeal schwannomas, although rare, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of laryngeal tumors. They occur most frequently in the false vocal fold and present most commonly with dysphonia and/or dysphagia. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice.

Keywords: Laryngeal; Larynx; Neurilemmoma; Neurinoma; Schwannoma.