Cervical Intramedullary Cystic Schwanoma: Case Report

Neurilemmomas or schwannomas are common spinal cord tumors and usually located intradural-extramedullary. Intramedullary schwannoma is a rare pathology and usually misdiagnosed as intramedullary glioma. We reported a case of cervicomedullary intramedullary cystic schwannoma. A-33-year-old female patient with 6 month history of sub-occipital neck pain with tingling and numbness affecting both upper limbs admitted to our department. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical spine showed cystic intramedullary mass. Patient operated with limited suboccipital craniectomy and removal of posterior arch of the atlas. The mass was intramedullary, soft, grayish white in color with mild vascularity. Near total excision was achieved and the patient has smooth postoperative course. Histopathological examination revealed cystic schwannoma.