A Case of Intra-thyroidal Schwannoma Diagnosed by Preoperative Core Needle Biopsy

Abstract

Schwannoma is a slow growing benign tumor that can occur anywhere in our body. About 25~45% cases of schwannomas occur in the head and neck, but intra-thyroidal schwannomas are very rare, and mostly are diagnosed by post-thyroidectomy pathologic study. In this article, we present a case of intra-thyroidal schwannoma diagnosed preoperatively with core needle biopsy. The patient underwent enucleation of the thyroid tumor, and the pathology of the tumor was confirmed as schwannoma. Few cases of intra-thyroidal schwannomas have been reported in the literature, but none of them have been diagnosed through core needle biopsy preoperatively. Preoperative diagnosis of intra-thyroidal schwannoma can be helpful when determining appropriate surgical extent and avoid unnecessary thyroidectomy.