Aspiration cytology of facial nerve schwannoma of parotid gland: A rare diagnosis.

Abstract

Schwannoma is a benign nerve sheath tumour rarely found in the head and neck region and much less commonly found in the intraparotid facial nerve. It is a slow-growing encapsulated tumour arising from differentiated Schwann cells or axonal nerve sheath. It can occur anywhere along the course of the facial nerve. Patients most commonly present with an asymptomatic swelling, in the absence of any signs of facial nerve palsy. Accordingly, diagnosis is usually difficult before surgical removal and histopathological examination. Here, we report a rare case of facial nerve schwannoma (FNS), diagnosed on fine needle aspiration cytology, in a 35-year-old male who presented with a painless, gradually increasing swelling in the right infra-auricular region for the last 2 years. His general examination revealed no signs of facial muscle weakness. The cytodiagnosis of intraparotid FNS was further confirmed by immunohistochemistry on cell block.