A Schwannoma in the Anterior Orbit: Case Report and Literature Review.

INTRODUCTION

Orbital schwannoma is a rare tumor that can occur in any orbital compartment, posing a diagnostic challenge for clinicians.

CASE PRESENTATION: We report a 35-year-old male who presented with a visible schwannoma in the inferomedial orbital angle. Our patient was treated with en bloc transconjunctival surgical resection without complications.

DISCUSSION: Only 35 cases of anterior orbital schwannomas have been reported in the literature. The majority of these masses were superior or superomedial. The nerve of origin was able to be identified in 42.9% of cases only, and the schwannoma arose from the frontal nerve or its branches in about half of these cases. Surgery was the standard of care, although in a few cases small masses were just observed. None of the reported cases has neurofibromatosis. This case highlights the importance of considering schwannoma in the differential diagnosis of anterior orbital masses in any of its anatomical compartments.