Mediastinal schwannoma: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Mediastinal schwannoma is a rare tumor that develops from a peripheral nerve sheath in the mediastinal. CASE PRESENTATION: An Indonesian female, 60 years old, complained of breathlessness, left chest pain, and an intermittent cough. A cystic lesion in the left lung was discovered on radiological evaluation and no evidence of malignancy or metastases were found. The patient underwent a thoracotomy and continued therapy, which included cefixime at a dose of 2 × 200 mg/day, ketorolac at a dose of 3 × 30 mg/day, ranitidine at a dose of 2 × 50 mg/day, and wound care. Histopathology examination revealed a mediastinal schwannoma. For 3 months, the patient-controlled dyspnea, left chest pain, and intermittent cough disappeared once a month. DISCUSSION: If the tumor is large enough, a thoracoscopic procedure is advised. Because mediastinal schwannomas are benign tumors, most do not get radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and recurrence in this case has not been reported. CONCLUSION: Tissue histopathology is used to determine the diagnosis mediastinal schwannoma, whereas radiological evaluation just confirms the diagnosis. The management is thoracotomy for large masses.