Transoral-transpharyngeal CO2 laser en bloc excision of voluminous left recurrent laryngeal nerve schwannoma: Case report and review of the literature

Transoral Endoscopic-Assisted Resection of Laryngeal Schwannoma: A Case Report

Introduction

Schwannoma, a peculiar benign nerve sheath tumour, is frequently hard to differentiate from other nerve tumours, such as neurofibroma. Around 25%-45% of all schwannomas emerge in the head and neck region, but only 0.1-1.5 % involve laryngeal structure. This tumour is most accurately diagnosed with biopsy via direct laryngoscopy; however, at some points this approach cannot detect a definitive diagnosis due to the surrounding capsule of the tumour and its similar histopathologic finding with other nerve sheath tumour.

Case Report

Here, a case of 56-year-old female is reported with chief complaints of severe progressive dyspnea and dysphagia. Diagnosis of schwannoma was confirmed on radiological and histopathological examination with certain hurdles. A complete surgical excision via endoscopic approach was done, revealing that the bottom of the mass was attached to the right arytenoid mucosa. The histopathological features showed non-malignant atypical neurofibroma but later confirmed as laryngeal schwannoma from immunohistochemical staining.

Conclusion

Although schwannoma has an excellent outcome and prognosis when occurring elsewhere in the body, laryngeal involvement is an extremely rare area for this lesion. Complete resection with a patient-customized approach to the lesion is required to avoid relapses and provide good functional results.

Supraglottic Schwannoma: Dilemma and Challenges in Management

Laryngeal schwannomas are rare lesions that represent less than 1.5% of all benign laryngeal tumors. Its slow and submucosal growth may cause a delay in consultation and management. Herein, a case of right supraglottic schwannoma is diagnosed in a 34-year-old lady who was unconcerned about hoarseness for 10 years. She was referred to otorhinolaryngology clinic for assessment when hoarseness was detected during consultation for a gynecology surgery. Apart from hoarseness, there were no noisy breathing, shortness of breath or aspiration symptoms. Flexible nasopharyngolaryngoscopy showed a submucosal bulge at the right vestibular fold obscuring the vocal fold causing an airway concern. Computer tomography scan of the neck revealed a heterogenous enhancing mass centered at the right supraglottis measuring 2.6 × 2.7 × 2.7 cm. There were no erosions of the adjacent thyroid and arytenoid cartilages. Subsequently, complete excision of the lesion was done endoscopically. Definitive diagnosis of schwannoma was obtained via histopathology examination. This paper presents our approach and operative steps in the excision of this lesion using microlaryngoscopy with cold instruments.