Intraparotid Facial Nerve Schwannoma: A Case Report

Creative Commons License

Hancı S., Akdeniz İ., Pehlivanoğlu B., Özgür E.

Master of Head and Neck Surgery IFHNOS 2025, İstanbul, Turkey, 13 - 15 November 2025, pp.40-44, (Full Text)

  • Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
  • City: İstanbul
  • Country: Turkey
  • Page Numbers: pp.40-44
  • Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
  • Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Facial nerve schwannoma (FNS) is an uncommon benign neoplasm that may originate at any point along the course of the facial nerve, extending from the cerebellopontine angle to its distal peripheral branches. The intratemporal segment represents the most frequent site of involvement, whereas only approximately 9% of cases arise from the extratemporal portion. Clinically, patients most often present with a palpable, slow-growing preauricular mass, and less commonly with varying degrees of facial paresis. To date, there remains no established consensus regarding the optimal management strategy for the diverse subtypes of extracranial FNS. Radiologic findings are frequently inconclusive, and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) often fails to yield a definitive diagnosis. Consequently, preoperative identification of FNS can be challenging or even misleading, underscoring the need for a multidisciplinary approach involving otolaryngologists, radiologists, and cytopathologists.

In this case report, we describe a case of an incidentally detected intraparotid facial nerve schwannoma encountered intraoperatively during superficial parotidectomy in a patient with House–Brackmann Grade II facial weakness and nondiagnostic FNAC findings, in whom the differential diagnosis posed significant difficulty.

Keywords: case report, facial nerve, pathology, schwannoma, surgery