Analysis of benign retroperitoneal schwannomas: a single-center experience

Background： Retroperitoneal schwannomas are rare. The purpose of this study was to present our experience with the diagnosis and treatment of 67 such tumors. Methods： Retrospective analysis of 67 patients with retroperitoneal schwannoma admitted to Peking University International Hospital from 2015 to 2021. Results： 67 patients presented with retroperitoneal schwannomas, 37 cases had no obvious clinical symptoms. 62 cases were completely excised, 5 cases were subtotal resection, 7 cases were combined with organ resection. The intraoperative blood loss was 300ml (20-9000ml), the tumor maximum size was 9cm (2.5-26cm), post-complication occurred in 6 cases (9.0%). Compared with abdominal retroperitoneal tumors, pelvic retroperitoneal tumors had larger tumor volume, more bleeding, higher proportion of block resection, and longer postoperative hospitalization time (P<0.05). The residual mass progressed slowly in 5 patients with subtotal resection, and no obvious malignant transformation occurred. Conclusion：Complete resection of schwannoma can achieve a good long-term prognosis. Patients with residual tumor after surgery progress slowly and rarely become malignant. We recommend early resection after the discovery of a pelvic retroperitoneal schwannoma. Keywords： Schwannoma; Retroperitoneal neoplasms; Postoperative complications

Publication History

Received: 11 May 2022

Accepted after revision: 09 September 2022

Accepted Manuscript online:
13 September 2022