Intrinsic brainstem schwannoma – A rare clinical entity and a histological enigma

• Main Authors: Anil Kumar Sharma, Amey R. Savardekar, B. N. Nandeesh, A. Arivazhagan, Malla Bhaskar Rao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2016-04-01
• Series: Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice
• Subjects: intraparenchymal schwannoma; intrinsic brainstem schwannoma; pathogenesis of schwannoma
• Online Access: http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.4103/0976-3147.176190

Intraparenchymal schwannomas arising in the brainstem are very rare, and only eight cases have been reported in literature till now. We report an intraparenchymal brainstem schwannoma presenting with the classical clinical presentation of an intrinsic brainstem lesion, and discuss its clinicoradiological characteristics and histological origins. We highlight the importance of an intraoperative frozen section diagnosis in such cases. Intraoperative tissue diagnosis significantly may alter the surgical strategy, which should be aimed at near total intracapsular decompression of the schwannoma.