Sciatica Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Sciatica, including details on treatment, prevention, medication.

Sciatica in a patient with unusual peripheral nerve sheath tumors.

Kralick F, Koenigsberg R

Department of Neurosurgery, Drexel University College of Medicine, Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.

BACKGROUND: Other causes such as peripheral schwannomas can mimic lumbar disk disease. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present an unusual case of multiple nerve sheath tumors in a patient with left radicular leg pain accompanied by a Tinel sign. Initial lumbar MR imaging revealed a mass in the right lumbar plexus, side opposite the patient's symptoms. Magnetic resonance neurography subsequently revealed a compressive mass of the sciatic nerve proximal to the popliteal fossa, histologically identified as a schwannoma. CONCLUSION: This case emphasizes the importance of continued investigation when the radiographic findings do not correlate with the patient's history in the presence of localizing signs on physical examination.

Published 5 December 2006 in Surg Neurol, 66(6): 634-7.
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