Misdiagnosis of a giant intrapelvic schwannoma: A case report

Presacral schwannomas are a rare disease. The current case report presents a case of giant schwannoma with severe abdominal pain, constipation and dysuresia. The patient was initially diagnosed with an ovarian teratoma, which is an extremely common disease. The pain pattern and accompanying symptoms were the major factors indicating a teratoma. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans were the main tools of differential diagnosis, but the unsharpness of CT often disturbs diagnosis. Diagnosis of the tumor was confirmed by histopathology and immunohistochemistry, revealing a benign presacral schwannoma. The patient underwent complete resection and recovered well, albeit with a large amount of blood loss. The tumor was 25x15x10 cm(3) in size and in contact with the sacrum. The aim of the present study was to review the diagnostic techniques of careful radiological examination. A follow-up was performed 2 years following the surgery and the patient remained alive and a CT scan demonstrated no evidence of recurrence. However, the long term efficacy of this process requires continuous observations of the patient.