Schwannoma of the greater superficial petrosal nerve

Abstract

A case of an intracranial schwannoma originating from the greater superficial petrosal nerve with wide extension into the pterygopalatine fossa in a 20-year-old woman without neurofibromatosis is reported. The motor facial nerve including the geniculate ganglion was not affected. At presentation the patient had vertigo, progressive hearing loss, and mild facial nerve synkinesis without lacrimation deficit. The tumor was detected by CT and MRI. The tumor was completely removed with an intracranial, extradural middle fossa approach with complete preservation of the motor facial nerve function. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an isolated schwannoma of the greater superficial petrosal nerve without involvement of the motor facial nerve.