Oculomotor nerve schwannoma: a case report and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND

Oculomotor nerve schwannomas are extremely rare tumors. There are only 40 cases reported in the literature. There is no standard treatment for these rare tumors.

CASE REPORT: The authors have reported a case of a 41-year-old Thai man presenting with progressive visual loss of the left eye for 6 months without diplopia. Visual acuity was 20/70 in the right and 20/400 in the left. There was no limitation of eye movement. MRI showed a 42.5 ml mass in the suprasellar region compatible with a schwannoma. The patient underwent a leftpterional craniotomy with partial tumor removal. The pathological section confirmed a diagnosis of schwannoma and the patient received postoperative stereotactic radiotherapy

CONCLUSION

Options for treating these rare tumors include clinical observation, surgical resection or stereotactic radiation. High incidence of complete third nerve palsy following surgery has been reported in the literature. Therefore, a subtotal removal of large oculomotor schwannoma followed by stereotactic radiotherapy could provide a safer alternative compared to radical surgery.