Retroperitoneal benign schwannoma: Report of three cases and analysis of clinico-radiologic findings

Retroperitoneal schwannoma is a rare tumor that originates in the neural sheath and accounts for only a small percentage of retroperitoneal. tumors. Presentation is typically varied and non-specific ranging from abdominal pain, abdominal mass or an incidental finding and the diagnosis is quite often fortuitous being confirmed by anatomopathological study afterwards. We report 3 cases of benign retroperitoneal pelvic schwannoma with varied presentations. Main symptoms were abdominal and pelvic pain whereas a patient with left parailiac mass had urinary incontinence and left lower extremity pain. Surgical exploration and complete excision of tumors were successful. The histological diagnosis of the tumors was reported as benign schwannoma. All patients are doing well and had no symptoms of motor or sensory disturbances after surgery with a mean follow up of 18 mounts. (C) 2003 Tohoku University Medical Press.