Distinctive Surgical Strategy for Removal of String of Beadlike Schwannomas of Cauda Equina.

BACKGROUND

Spinal schwannomas are the most common intradural extramedullary tumors. However, a string of beadlike schwannomas is rare. In some cases, the beadlike tumors might present a multiple segmental growing pattern, often located in the lumbar spinal canal and on 1 nerve fiber. Despite its benign nature, the resection of this string of beadlike tumors could be a challenge to neurosurgeons, especially when the tumors extend to a long distance.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 50-year-old female was admitted to our hospital, and her diagnosis was beadlike schwannomas. We performed 2 small hemilaminectomies and pulled all the tumors out gently. The patient made a full recovery quickly after resection.

CONCLUSIONS

In this case, we first reported a new surgical approach for the removal of a string of beadlike cauda equina schwannomas. We hypothesize that this procedure would be a potential addition to the present surgical methods under some circumstances.