Incidental ancient schwannoma of the posterior mediastinum in a young male: a rare scenario

Abstract

Ancient schwannoma is a distinctive type of schwannoma occurring mostly in the retroperitoneum. The presentation in the posterior mediastinum is rare. The term ‘ancient’ represents a group of neurogenic tumours showing degenerative changes with marked nuclear atypia. A 26-year-old man was incidentally detected to have an upper mediastinal mass lesion in the chest X-ray. MRI chest revealed a mixed signal intensity lesion in the left side upper para spinal region of the posterior mediastinum. The patient underwent left posterior thoracotomy and excision of the mass was done. Postoperative period was uneventful. The histopathological feature was typical of Ancient schwannoma. The patient is on regular follow-up and disease free until.