Follow up after two months showed no recurrence in the nose or any other complaints. Benign schwannomas are the commonest type with less than 40 cases occurring within the paranasal sinus. Lesions involving the paranasal sinus often lead to pain in the facial or orbital area. Schwannomas can show local bony destruction with possible intracranial extension, including visual disturbances. Neurinomas involving the nose, throat or larynx are usually solitary lesions and on examination they present as localized masses in the nasal cavity.
Radiology is invaluable for preoperative planning of excision.
In addition, biopsy can confirm the diagnosis. However, brisk bleeding may occur at biopsy or removal due to the rich vascular stroma. Microscopic sections show the typical elongated or spindle shaped cell with an oval or flattened nucleus, usually with a palisading effect. These tumours are composed of cytologically benign appearing cells that have the typical feature of Schwann cells. Apart from the olfactory nerve, any of the nerves supplying the nose and paranasal sinus may give rise to the tumour, somatic or autonomic.