Cystic Abducens Schwannoma without Abducens Paresis : Possible Role of Cisternal Structures in Clinical Manifestation

The abducens nerve paresis generally can aid in the presumptive diagnosis of abducens schwannoma along with the typical radiological features of schwannomas. The authors present a case of a 76-year-old male patient with a abducens schwannoma without abducens nerve paresis. Peroperatively, abducens nerve located in the cerebellopontine cistern had normal in contour and diameter, despite the mass originated from this nerve. We hypothesize that anatomic location of abducens nerve may affect the vector of tumor growth to prevent destruction of its origin, the abducens nerve.