Study design: A case report of a man with a gigantic cellular schwannoma in the sacrum treated with high sacral amputation accompanied by careful nerve root-sparing dissection.
Objectives: To describe the atypical clinical course of an intrasacral cellular schwannoma and the surgical procedure of high sacral amputation performed in a way to prevent needless sacrifice of functionally essential nerve roots.
Summary of background data: Fundamentally, a cellular schwannoma is a benign tumor, but the clinical course is atypical. The symptoms are mild and the clinicopathologic features often mislead us to make a diagnosis of malignancy. The occurrence rate of intraosseous cellular schwannoma was reported to be 0.2% of all bony tumors, and the main location was the retroperitoneal space in the pelvis. Forty-one cases of giant intrasacral schwannomas have been reported so far. Among them, large sacral schwannoma with anterior cortex erosion and associated intrapelvic extension was extremely rare.
Methods: The patient presented with a 5-year history of right leg and buttock pain, which did not disturb his daily activities. After a histopathologic diagnosis and a complete set of image studies, high sacral amputation with preservation of uninvolved nerve roots was performed at S1-S2 through a combined anterior and posterior approach. Both S1 nerve roots and the right S2-S3 nerve roots were saved using a threaded saw. The lumbar spine was stabilized to the pelvic girdle using spinal instrumentation with posterolateral fusion.
Results: Eighteen months after the tumor was resected the patient had a very good clinical outcome, and there were no radiologic signs of instability or recurrence of the tumor. Locomotor function of both lower extremities and bowel and urinary functions were well maintained. The patient returned to his previous work.
Conclusions: High sacral amputation following a combined anteroposterior approach provided good results without causing any disability. A detailed preoperative planning and careful dissection of uninvolved nerve roots prevented unnecessary neurologic impairment in locomotion and the detrusor and anorectal function.