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
. 2019 Aug 4;12(8):e229438.
doi: 10.1136/bcr-2019-229438.

Retroperitoneal schwannoma mimicking an adnexal mass in pregnancy

Rebecca Allen  1 , Lorin Lakasing  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

Retroperitoneal schwannoma mimicking an adnexal mass in pregnancy

Rebecca Allen et al. BMJ Case Rep. .

Abstract

A 36-year-old pregnant woman attended her first trimester scan and there was an incidental finding of a right-sided complex cystic adenexal mass. Further investigations including repeat pelvic ultrasound scans and MRI were performed due to its complex nature but were inconclusive. Multidisciplinary team review of images found the mass to be retroperitioneal, neurogenic in origin and involving the L5 vertebrae. The pregnancy continued to term and the baby was delivered at 39 weeks gestation by elective caesarean section due to the mass being likely to obstruct progress in labour. Postnatal biopsy confirmed a schwannoma. Plans were made for resection however as the woman was asymptomatic she declined surgery in favour of completing her family. She conceived again 2 years later and a second pregnancy was managed in the same way. The size of the schwannoma remained stable throughout this period.

Keywords: neurosurgery; pregnancy; radiology; spinal cord; ultrasonography.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
First trimester ultrasound scan.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Transverse section MRI of mass.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Sagittal section MRI of mass.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Ultrasound image of lesion in second pregnancy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tong RS, Collier N, Kaye AH. Chronic sciatica secondary to retroperitoneal pelvic schwannoma. J Clin Neurosci 2003;10:108–11. 10.1016/S0967-5868(02)00107-8 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Song JY, Kim SY, Park EG, et al. Schwannoma in the retroperitoneum. J Obstet Gynaecol Res 2007;33:371–5. 10.1111/j.1447-0756.2007.00539.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nithya J, Banumathy M, Radha A. Retroperitoneal pelvic schwannoma in pregnancy: a case report. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2017;8:3689–91.
    1. Dahiya N, Dahiya P, Kalra R, et al. Schwanomma presenting as a gynaecological mass with pregnancy-a case report. Int. J Pharm Sci Rev Res 2011;2:1276–9.
    1. Parveen S, Gonsalves R, Feroz AS, et al. Retroperitoneal schwannoma presenting as an ovarian tumour in pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol 2007;27:429–30. 10.1080/01443610701327222 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types