Cerebral hernia caused by a thoracic surgery for multiple schwannomas in a patient with Neurofibromatosis type 2

Turk Neurosurg. 2013;23(2):245-8. doi: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.4091-11.1.

Abstract

Schwannoma is a benign nerve sheath tumor composed of Schwann cells. A solitary schwannoma in the thorax is not rare, but a patient with Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and multiple thoracic schwannomas is extremely rare. We report the case of a 27-year-old woman with NF2 and two large schwannomas in her mediastinum and chest wall. We performed thoracic surgery on the patient, but she developed a cerebral hernia immediately after the operation. We report this case in order to analyze the relationship between the operation and cerebral hernia and find a way to prevent this consequence in the future. We conclude that a cranial MRI must be performed for patients with multiple thoracic schwannomas before the surgery. If there is a tumor inside the cranium, the disease in the brain must be treated first to prevent the occurrence of cerebral hernia or hemorrhage.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Encephalocele / etiology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Neurilemmoma / complications*
  • Neurilemmoma / surgery*
  • Neurofibroma / pathology
  • Neurofibromatosis 2 / complications*
  • Postoperative Complications / therapy*
  • Thoracic Neoplasms / complications*
  • Thoracic Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed