Primary middle ear schwannoma

Kim, Chang Woo; Han, Dong Hyuk; Kim, Chang Hoon; Cho, Seong Jin; Rho, Young-Soo

doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2006.09.018

« Previous Next »American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery
Volume 28, Issue 5 , Pages 342-346, September 2007

Primary middle ear schwannoma

Chang Woo Kim, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea
- Corresponding author. Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Hallym University College of Medicine, 445 Gil-Dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, 134-701, South Korea. Tel.: +82 2 2224 2279; fax: +82 2 482 2279.
Dong Hyuk Han, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea
Chang Hoon Kim, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea
Seong Jin Cho, MD
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea
Young-Soo Rho, MD
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea

Received 18 July 2006

Abstract

Schwannomas of the middle ear may originate from the nerves of the middle ear cavity or by extensions from neighboring structures. We present a case of a 51-year-old female patient with primary middle ear schwannoma believed to arise from Jacobson's nerve. The tumor was easily divided from the facial nerve and the chorda tympani nerve. Erosion of the promontory was noted, and the jugular foramen and posterior wall of the ear canal were preserved without destruction. The mass was successfully removed by a canal down mastoidectomy procedure, while preserving the hearing and facial nerve functions of the patient. To our knowledge, this is only the second reported case of a patient with Jacobson's nerve schwannoma.