Schwannoma of forearm – Difficult clinical diagnosis

Benign tumors involving peripheral nerves of the upper extremity are uncommon. The swelling may be misdiagnosed as other soft tissue neoplasm like lipoma, ganglion or lymph node. Schwannomas also known as neurilemmoma usually originate from Schwann cells located in the peripheral nerve sheaths. They account for about 5% of all the benign soft-tissue neoplasms in the adults and 19% of the tumors occur in upper extremities. Schwannomas generally presented as an asymptomatic mass causing discomfort. With the increasing size of the tumor pain, numbness, and fatigue may occur. We report a case of schwannoma on forearm which was clinically misdiagnosed as foreign body granuloma and was excised. Diagnosis was made on histopathology. Diagnosing the peripheral nerve schwannomas can be challenging clinically. Hence, a detailed clinical, radiological and histopathological evaluation is essential. Peripheral nerve schwannoma is rare and observation of a single patient can add to our understanding this rare disease.