Primary intratracheal neurilemmoma in a 10-year-old girl: A case report

BACKGROUND: Tracheal tumors are relatively rare in adults and uncommon in children. Tracheal neurilemmoma is a rare condition in adults that usually affects middle-aged people, but it can also occur in children. Because the clinical presentation is nonspecific and insidious, diagnosis is often delayed. The most common symptoms in these patients are stridor or wheezing (especially positional) and cough. A few patients are misdiagnosed and mistakenly treated for asthma. CASE SUMMARY: A 10-year-old girl was admitted to our unit with a 2-mo history of recurrent cough, dyspnea, and tachypnea. Her condition was more severe after exercise. Her symptoms progressed despite treatment with inhaled fluticasone/salmeterol. Flexible electronic laryngoscopy showed a red, smooth, and round mushroom-shaped mass in the trachea, about 1 cm below the vocal cords. The surface of the mass was covered with several small and discontinuous blood vessels. About 90% of the tracheal lumen was occupied by the mass. A multidisciplinary operation was performed. The surgically resected mass was diagnosed as benign neurilemmoma by immunohistochemical analysis. CONCLUSION: Intratracheal neurilemmoma is fairly rare in children. The main symptoms include coughing, wheezing, and dyspnea. The tumor’s size, location, and degree of intratracheal and extratracheal invasion can be measured by chest computed tomography. The main treatment strategies used for tracheal neurilemmoma are surgical resection and endoscopic excision. Long-term follow-up is warranted for the evaluation of outcomes and complications.