Giant recurrent dumbbell-shaped hypoglossal schwannoma in an elderly male: A case report.

Dumbbell-shaped hypoglossal Schwannomas of the 12th cranial nerve are extremely rare, and complete removal of these tumors is difficult, particularly in elderly patients with recurrent tumors. The present study reports the case of a 61-year-old male with a giant recurrent dumbbell-shaped hypoglossal schwannoma that arose extracranially. The recurrent tumor was completely removed in a one-stage surgical procedure via the far lateral suboccipital approach in combination with the transcervical approach. To the best of our knowledge, such a lesion has not been reported previously. The life expectancy and natural course of the disease are important factors to take into account when considering the individual end-point of surgery in patients. More studies on hypoglossal schwannomas are required, particularly cases in which the hypoglossal schwannoma was not totally resected, not only in order to develop more definitive and secure surgical treatments, but also to reduce the resultant unnecessary suffering of patients.