Intra-Suprasellar Schwannoma Presumably Originating from the Internal Carotid Artery Wall : Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Intracranial schwannomas are common but intra-suprasellar schwannomas are extremely rare. We represent the case of a 57-year-old woman with an intra-suprasellar tumor that was presurgically diagnosed as an anterior clinoidal meningioma. Intraoperatively it adhered tightly to the internal carotid artery wall and could not easily be dissected, possibly leading to profuse hemorrhage and sacrifice of the carotid artery with coil embolization. Histopathology demonstrated a schwannoma. We reviewed and summarized the clinical, imaging, and intraoperative findings of previously reported intra-suprasellar schwannomas.