How I Do It: endoscope-assisted resection of a large dumbbell-shaped cervical schwannoma.

Abstract

Cervical dumbbell-shaped schwannomas are often challenging in terms of complete resection. There are few reports on the use of endoscope-assisted surgery for foraminal schwannomas. We used the wide-angle endoscope to assist in resecting a large cervical 3-4 dumbbell-shaped schwannoma. The well-designed set-up allowed the surgeon to achieve easier manipulation ins a straight surgical trajectory with minimal intraoperative adjustment. The endoscope allowed surgeons to visualize and operate in regions beyond the straight line of sight, without the need for facetectomy and subdural inspection. We believe that this case demonstrates the feasibility of applying endoscope-assisted surgery for large cervical dumbbell-shaped schwannomas.