Magnetic resonance imaging findings for differential diagnosis of perianal plexiform schwannoma: Case report and review of the literature

Plexiform schwannoma is an extremely rare variant of schwannoma, accounting for approximately 5% of cases. Due to the rarity and lack of typical symptoms, signs and radiological images, a definite diagnosis of plexiform schwannoma may not be made by clinicians prior to biopsy. In the present study, we report the first case (to our knowledge) of perianal plexiform schwannoma arising from the overlapped skin of the ischioanal fossa, and we propose an intratumorally nonenhanced circumferential capsule dividing the tumour into multiple homogeneously enhanced nodules as a magnetic resonance imaging feature to aid in the differential diagnosis of plexiform schwannoma from ancient schwannoma, cavernous haemangioma, liposarcoma and plexiform neurofibroma.