Diagnosis and management of pediatric cervical vagal schwannoma

Cervical vagal schwannoma, a rare differential of a neck swelling: A case report

“…End‐to‐end anastomosis or nerve grafting may be mandated in special cases where nerve preservation is not possible 3,5 . Although wait and watch could be an option for benign, slow‐growing asymptomatic tumors, they eventually encroach upon surrounding structures, and thus surgery is preferred, particularly in the younger age group 11 . Postoperatively, hoarseness is the most common symptom and can occur with or without coughing, choking, or Horner's syndrome 8 .…”

“…3,5 Although wait and watch could be an option for benign, slow-growing asymptomatic tumors, they eventually encroach upon surrounding structures, and thus surgery is preferred, particularly in the younger age group. 11 Postoperatively, hoarseness is the most common symptom and can occur with or without coughing, choking, or Horner's syndrome. 8 Meticulous microsurgical dissection in conjunction with intraoperative nerve monitoring produces a better outcome in terms of postoperative morbidity.…”

Multimodal Imaging Characteristics and Diagnostic Approach to Ancient Schwannoma in a Pediatric Patient

“…FNA was chosen to aid in diagnosis, triage urgency of surgical excision, and could be performed with local anesthetic only. The use of FNA in schwannoma diagnosis remains controversial due to challenges in representative specimen acquisition and difficulties in making a confident diagnosis based on a limited sample [2,8]. Despite these potential challenges, FNA was instrumental in the workup for accurate surgical planning and provided the diagnosis in a minimally invasive fashion.…”

“…These rare lesions can arise from peripheral nerves surrounded by Schwann cells in any area of the body. They are most often found in the head, neck, and extremities [1][2][3]. The vast majority of schwannomas occur in adults, with fewer than 10% diagnosed in patients younger than 21 years [1][2][3].…”

“…They are most often found in the head, neck, and extremities [1][2][3]. The vast majority of schwannomas occur in adults, with fewer than 10% diagnosed in patients younger than 21 years [1][2][3]. It is relatively common for schwannomas to involve cranial nerves, but schwannomas of the vagus nerve are rare, especially in children, with only 15 cases of pediatric vagal schwannoma reported in literature [1,2].…”