Giant schwannoma with extensive scalloping of the lumbar vertebral body treated with one-stage posterior surgery: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Schwannoma is a relatively common benign spinal cord and/or cauda equina tumor; however, giant cauda equina schwannoma with extensive scalloping of the lumbar vertebral body is a rare pathology, and the treatment strategy, including the use of surgical procedures, is controversial. In this report, we present a rare case of a giant lumbar schwannoma of the cauda equina with extremely large scalloping of the vertebral body, and we discuss the surgical strategy we used to treat this pathology. CASE PRESENTATION: A 42-year-old Japanese man presented to our department with complaints of a gait disturbance and muscle weakness in the left lower limb. His muscle strength in the proximal part of the left lower limb was grade 2 or 3/5, and he exhibited a mild urinary disturbance on the first visit. X-ray and computed tomography myelography of the lumbar spine showed an extremely large erosive lesion at the L3 vertebral body. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine showed a large soft-tissue mass in the spinal canal at L2-L3 and the vertebral body at L3. A one-stage complete tumor resection and instrumented circumferential fusion were performed via a posterior approach, and a good outcome was achieved after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We performed one-stage posterior surgery in a patient with a giant cauda equina schwannoma with extensive scalloping of the vertebral body, and a good post-operative outcome was achieved.