A Case of Schwannoma of the Mouth Floor Mistaken as a Ranula / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Schwannoma is a relatively slow-growing, encapsulated benign tumor that is derived from the Schwann cell of the nerve sheath. We report here on a case of schwannoma of the mouth floor with a review of the literature. A 67-year-old woman presented with a right mouth floor mass, which was first detected 5 years ago. The preoperative diagnosis was ranula on the basis of the physical findings and the computerized tomographic findings. However, the mass was found to be a true neoplastic lesion rather than a cystic lesion in the course of surgical dissection. The permanent pathologic report of the mass was schwannoma. Postoperatively, although the patient had no problem with taste, the pain-sense, speech and swallowing, she had mild deviation of the tongue towards the same side of the mass, which means that the function of the hypoglossal nerve was somewhat impaired. Her tongue deviation was spontaneously resolved within 6 weeks postoperatively.