Published online Mar 16, 2015. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i3.322
Peer-review started: September 18, 2014
First decision: October 14, 2014
Revised: December 25, 2014
Accepted: January 9, 2015
Article in press: January 12, 2015
Published online: March 16, 2015
Processing time: 177 Days and 16.7 Hours
Facial nerve schwannoma occurring within the parotid gland is a rare tumour. We report a case of schwannoma within the parotid gland in a young female patient, who underwent ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and subsequent surgical excision of the lesion. The lesion showed hyperintensity on T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted MRI. There was no adjacent lymphadenopathy. Although hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted MRI could suggest malignant tumours, the characteristic “string sign” provided the clue for the diagnosis of schwannoma.
Core tip: There is a difference in an approach to surgery for benign and malignant parotid masses. For benign lesions, superficial parotidectomy is done; whereas in a case of malignant tumour total parotidectomy is performed with or without excision of the facial nerve. Clinically, it is very difficult to differentiate them because even malignant tumours have slow growth. Hence, here comes the role of imaging which could suggest the nature of the mass and narrow the differentials.