Resection of an esophageal schwannoma with thoracoscopic surgery: a case report

BACKGROUND: Esophageal schwannomas are rare primary submucosal esophageal tumors. We herein report a case of an esophageal schwannoma that was difficult to diagnose. CASE PRESENTATION: A 39-year-old woman presented with chief complaints of difficulty swallowing and epigastric pain. Enhanced computed tomography of her chest revealed a tumor mass at the upper thoracic esophagus with internal heterogeneity. 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography showed a hypermetabolic appearance matching the tumor mass; the accumulation had a maximum standardized uptake value of 5.5. We performed endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy under general anesthesia, but the small specimens obtained prevented a definitive diagnosis. Thoracoscopic esophagectomy was performed due to the large size of the tumor, suspicion of its malignant potential, and the patient’s symptoms. Histopathological examination revealed spindle-shaped cells in a fasciculated and disarrayed architecture in the proper muscle layer. Immunohistochemical studies showed S100 protein positivity and the absence of CD34 and c-kit. We diagnosed the tumor as a benign schwannoma. CONCLUSIONS: We herein report a relatively rare case of schwannoma of the esophagus that was diagnosed with difficulty.