Schwannoma of the tongue in a child

Abstract

A schwannoma or neurilemmoma is a benign, slow growing, usually solitary and encapsulated tumour originating from Schwann cells of the nerve sheath. Approximately 25-40% of all schwannomas are seen in the soft tissues of the head and neck, often originate from the acoustic nerve. Intraoral schwannomas are rare and account for 1% of schwannomas of the head and neck region. We report the case of a 10-year-old boy diagnosed with a schwannoma of the tongue. The purpose of this report is to emphasize the possibility of diagnosing schwannoma among all other lingual lesions in children. The disease itself was diagnosed histologically after complete surgical excision. Five years after surgical treatment, the patient is without signs of recurrence. This paper highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of this very rare entity.