Schwannoma of the Tibial Nerve

Abstract

Schwannoma is a benign, well-defined, and solitary nerve sheath tumor and accounts for 5% of all soft tissue tumors. It can occur anywhere along the peripheral nervous system. It is a slowly growing tumor and usually presents as a painless, discrete, and firm swelling before being diagnosed, unless it grows in a confined place. Preoperative diagnosis of schwannoma is often difficult. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and sonography are useful imaging modalities in the preoperative assessment of nerve sheath tumors. Although imaging may not be reliable in distinguishing nerve sheath tumors from each other, certain imaging characteristics should raise the suspicion of schwannoma.