Soft Palate Schwannoma: A Case Report

Abstract

Schwannoma (neurilemmoma) is one of the rare lesions that affect the oral mucosa. It is a benign lesion originated from Schwann cells which form myelin sheath of myelinated nerves. Most of the cases are asymptomatic, but in symptomatic cases, the signs and symptoms depend on its size and location. 25% of the cases of schwannoma occur in the head and neck but the intraoral cases form only 1% of the extracranial head and neck schwannoma. Most of the intraoral schwannoma occur in the tongue, but it can also affect other parts of oral cavity like palatal mucosa, floor of the mouth, cheeks, labial mucosa and jaws. In the following case report, a 28 years old female diagnosed with schwannoma in the soft palate which is extremely a rare case. The tumor was asymptomatic, slowly growing, round in shape, 5mm in diameter but the patient was obsessive from the mass. The lesion was excised by LED laser (epic x, Biolase) and sent immediately to histopathology. The laboratory report showed that the lesion was strongly positive to anti S100 protein. The patient after 10 months of follow up is well controlled and with no recurrence of the tumor