Abstract. Dumbbell-shaped hypoglossal Schwannomas of the 12th cranial nerve are extremely rare, and complete removal of these tumors is difficult, particularly in elderly patients with recurrent tumors. The present study reports the case of a 61-year-old male with a giant recurrent dumbbell-shaped hypoglossal schwannoma that arose extracranially. The recurrent tumor was completely removed in a one-stage surgical procedure via the far lateral suboccipital approach in combination with the transcervical approach. To the best of our knowledge, such a lesion has not been reported previously. The life expectancy and natural course of the disease are important factors to take into account when considering the individual end-point of surgery in patients. More studies on hypoglossal schwannomas are required, particularly cases in which the hypoglossal schwannoma was not totally resected, not only in order to develop more definitive and secure surgical treatments, but also to reduce the resultant unnecessary suffering of patients.
IntroductionHypoglossal schwannomas are rare, and were reported for the first time by De Martel et al (1) in 1933. The most common symptoms are unilateral tongue atrophy and fasciculation (2) and the disease has been found to exhibit a female predominance (3). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is considered superior to computed tomography for the diagnosis of skull base tumors, as MRI accurately demonstrates the relationship between tumor location and the surrounding soft tissues (4). Although 39 cases of dumbbell-shaped, hypoglossal schwannoma have been described in the literature to date (3,(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), only a small proportion of these cases (<30%) achieved a complete tumor resection (12), and no recurrent cases were reported. At present, the standard surgical technique used for the treatment of hypoglossal schwannomas is the far lateral approach with partial resection of the condyle, which exposes the hypoglossal canal (3,16). Complete tumor resection is difficult due to intradural and extradural growth through the enlarged hypoglossal canal. A further challenge for surgical treatment is being able to achieve a radical resection and decrease the risk of recurrence at the same time as preserving lower cranial nerve function (9). It is occasionally difficult to decide which management strategies should be used for benign cranial base tumors in patients (10), particularly in elderly patients with recurrent dumbbell-shaped hypoglossal schwannoma. The present study reports the case of an elderly patient with a giant recurrent dumbbell-shaped hypoglossal schwannoma that arose extracranially, to the best of our knowledge, this is the largest case of hypoglossal schwannoma that has been completely removed in a one-stage surgical procedure.
Case reportA 61-year-old male presented with a cough after drinking water, which had persisted for 8 months, accompanied by hoarseness for the last 4 months. The patient first visited the local Ear, Nose and Throat Department in January 2...