Enucleation of giant esophageal schwannoma of the upper thoracic esophagus: reports of two cases

Benign esophageal tumors are uncommon, leiomyomas being the most frequent. However, esophageal schwannomas are exceedingly rare. We report here on two instances of large esophageal schwannomas treated by enucleation. A 63-year-old male and a 32-year-old female were referred to us for abnormal chest X-rays. Computed tomography of the chest documented sizeable growths in the upper thoracic esophagus, resulting in compression of membranous trachea posteriorly. By positron emission tomography, the tumors appeared hypermetabolic. In both instances, successful surgical enucleation was achieved. Histologic examination confirmed spindle cell tumors positive for S-100 protein by immunostaining.