Schwannoma of the Vagus Nerve Masquerading as a Carotid Body Tumor

Abstract

A 45-year-old male presented with increasing hoarseness and swelling of his right neck over 5 months. He was noted to have right vocal cord paralysis and hemiatrophy of his tongue. He was found to have a schwannoma of the vagus nerve with compression of the right hypoglossal nerve. One month after his surgery, the patient's tongue mobility was improving, he was not aspirating, his voice was better and his right vocal cord remained abducted. A discussion of this case is followed by a review of the literature surrounding this rare disease and this unique presentation.