Archives of Clinical and Experimental Surgery (Feb 2014)

A Rare Causing of Difficulty in Defecation: Rectal Schwannoma

  • Ozgur Dandin,
  • Levent Tezcan,
  • Dursun Ozgur Karakas,
  • Ahmet Ziya Balta,
  • Ferhat Cuce

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5455/aces.20120625123436
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 1
pp. 59 – 63

Abstract

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Objective: Schwannomas are mainly benign, non-epithelial tumors originating in the Schwann cells, which form nerve sheaths. Schwannomas account for about 2-8% of all gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumors, encountered more frequently in the stomach and the small intestine. Schwannomas of the colon and rectum are extremely rare. Case Presentation: In this report, we present a thirty-nine-year-old woman admitted for complaints of rectal fullness and difficulty in defecation. At her rectal examination, a polypoid tumor 22x27x27mm in size was found filling the lumen of the rectum; it was well defined, with a homogeneous nature and benign appearance. Complete excision of the tumor was achieved by a transanal surgical approach. Histolopathological and immunohistochemical diagnosis of the tumor reported a rectal schwannoma. There has been no tumor recurrence at 18 months after surgical excision. Conclusion: A schwannoma of the rectum is rare; a benign tumor can usually be separated from GISTs with immunohistochemical staining, and it carries a good prognosis with local excision, which is the procedure of choice. [Arch Clin Exp Surg 2014; 3(1.000): 59-63]

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