An unusual parapharyngeal tumor : cervical sympathetic chain schwannoma

Abstract EN

Schwannomas are benign, solitary, and well-differentiated tumors originating from Schwann cells.

They may originate from any of the peripheral, cranial, or autonomic nerves of the body with the exception of the olfactory and the optic nerves.

Schwannomas arising from the cervical sympathetic chain are very rare.

Only < 65 cases have been reported in the literature to date.

Here we report a case of cervical sympathetic chain schwannoma in a 41-year-old lady presenting as a parapharyngeal mass which was excised by a transcervical approach without any postoperative Horner’s syndrome.