A case of pelvic retroperitoneal benign schwannoma presenting as a gynecologic malignancy with pulmonary thromboembolism.

Jeong, Eun Young; Kim, Jeong Sig; Nam, Kye Hyun; Bae, Dong Han

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2009;52(6):655-660.
Published online June 1, 2009.

A case of pelvic retroperitoneal benign schwannoma presenting as a gynecologic malignancy with pulmonary thromboembolism.

Eun Young Jeong, Jeong Sig Kim, Kye Hyun Nam, Dong Han Bae

¹Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Korea.
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan, Korea.

Abstract

Retroperitoneal schwannomas are rare tumors difficult to diagnose preoperatively. It may originate at the cranial nerves or nerves of the upper extremities, but origin along the nerves of the retroperitoneal space is very rare. Most of the retroperitoneal schwannomas are benign neoplasm. These tumor can be misdiagnosed as adnexal mass or carcinoma. Venous thromboembolism or pulmonary embolism is increasingly recognized as a common complication in patients with malignant disease. We report a 37-year-old woman presented with pulmonary thromboembolism and a pelvic mass which was incidentally found and misdiagnosed as ovarian cancer. Histopathologic results of the extirpated mass turned out to be a benign schwannoma.

Key Words: Schwannoma, Retroperitoneum, Thromboembolism