Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Aug 26, 2021; 9(24): 7212-7217
Published online Aug 26, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i24.7212
Pediatric schwannoma of the tongue: A case report and review of literature
Chang Bin Yun, Young-Mo Kim, Jeong-Seok Choi, Ji Won Kim
Chang Bin Yun, Young-Mo Kim, Jeong-Seok Choi, Ji Won Kim, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon 22212, South Korea
Author contributions: All authors were involved in the care of patient, writing and corrections and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ji Won Kim, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Inha University College of Medicine, No. 27 Inhang-ro, Jung-gu, Incheon 22212, South Korea. hopefuljw@gmail.com
Received: March 6, 2021
Peer-review started: March 6, 2021
First decision: May 24, 2021
Revised: June 2, 2021
Accepted: July 16, 2021
Article in press: July 16, 2021
Published online: August 26, 2021
Processing time: 170 Days and 7.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Neurogenic tumors account for about ten percent of all tumors of childhood, and benign tumor originating from Schwann cells is rare in peripheral nerves. Schwannoma of the tongue is quite rare in children.

CASE SUMMARY

We present the case of an 8-year-old male with schwannoma in the anterolateral tongue. The mass was slow-growing for one year with no pain and discomfort. He underwent transoral mass excision under general anesthesia. Gross examination revealed a smooth surfaced, 17 mm × 14 mm × 7 mm sized, encapsulated nodule with a clear resection margin. Schwannoma of the tongue was confirmed by the pathological exam. He reported no motor or sensory change, such as dysgeusia or paresthesia, or phonation difficulty during postoperative 12 mo follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Schwannoma of the tongue is a rare benign neoplasm in childhood. If a painless firm mass is encountered in the tongue of a child, solid tumors like schwannoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis.

Keywords: Schwannoma; Tongue; Child; Pediatric; Neurogenic; Tumor; Case report

Core Tip: Schwannoma of the tongue is a rare benign neoplasm in childhood. If a painless firm mass is encountered in the tongue of a child, solid tumors like schwannoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis. Based on the suspicion of schwannoma, meticulous surgical excision is necessary in terms of functional preservation and preventing recurrence.