Tuberc Respir Dis.  2012 Sep;73(3):174-177. 10.4046/trd.2012.73.3.174.

Endobronchial Schwannoma Treated by Rigid Bronchoscopy with Argon Plasma Coagulation

• Lee BR
• Choi YD
• Kim YI
• Lim SC
• Kwon YS

• KMID: 1842913
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2012.73.3.174

Abstract

Primary endobronchial schwannomas are extremely rare tumors that originate from Schwann cells. We report a case of primary endobronchial schwannoma. A 44-year-old woman, without respiratory symptoms, was presented with a nodule in the left main bronchus on her chest computed tomography scan. The nodule was removed by a rigid bronchoscopy with argon plasma coagulation. Biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of schwannoma. There was no recurrence during her 4-month follow-up.

Keyword

Neurilemmoma; Bronchi; Bronchoscopy

MeSH Terms

Adult
Argon
Argon Plasma Coagulation
Biopsy
Bronchi
Bronchoscopy
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Neurilemmoma
Recurrence
Schwann Cells
Thorax
Argon

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Chest computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy images of a patient with primary endobronchial schwannoma. (A) Chest CT showed an oval tumor nodule occupying the left main bronchus (arrow). (B) Bronchoscopic finding showed a polypoid tumor with a smooth surface near totally obstructing the lumen of the left main bronchus. (C) Immediate post-intervention bronchoscopic finding showed an opened left main bronchus and tumor base with a coagulation and vaporization by an argon plasma coagulation. (D) Bronchoscopic finding of four months after bronchoscopic intervention showed a clean tumor base without an evidence of recurrence.

• 

  Figure 2 Histological findings of rigid bronchoscopic tumor removal. (A) Photomicrography of a sub-bronchial mass showed a hypocellular lesion containing an edematous degenerative change (H&E, ×40). (B) The tumor was composed of spindle tumor cells showing a palisading pattern without mitosis or necrosis (H&E, ×200). The tumor cells have an immunoreactivity for S-100 (Inset, ×200).

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