Primary intratracheal schwannoma resected during bronchoscopy using argon plasma coagulation

Abstract

A 63-year-old man presented with intermittent, progressively worsening dyspnoea associated with cough and blood-tinged sputum. Initial work-up showed left axis deviation on ECG, chest X-ray with an elevated left hemidiaphragm and a non-contrast CT chest that showed a multilobulated mass in the proximal trachea. Bronchoscopy showed a whitish-appearing lesion, which was then sampled and partially resected with pathology showing a schwannoma with no malignant cells. He felt partial relief post procedure; however, he presented a month later with similar symptoms of dyspnoea and a repeat CT scan showed enlargement of the mass in the same location. The patient underwent another flexible bronchoscopy and resection with argon plasma coagulation (APC)/electrocautery snare. APC/electrocautery is an effective interventional bronchoscopy technique that can be used to resect endoluminal lesions or extraluminal lesions that have infiltrated into the airway using flexible/rigid bronchoscopy. It is more cost-effective, safe, works well with vascular lesions and achieves excellent haemostasis as compared with Nd:YAG lasers.