Spinal accessory nerve schwannomas masquerading as a fourth ventricular lesion

Accessory nerve schwannoma extending into the fourth ventricle: case report and review of literature

Accessory nerve schwannoma is a rare entity in patients presenting with cranial nerve (CN) deficits. Most of these tumours arise from the cisternal segment of the eleventh CN and extend caudally. Herein, we report the third case of an accessory schwannoma extending cranially into the fourth ventricle. A 61-year-old female presented with a history of variable headaches. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) revealed a large inhomogeneous contrast-enhancing lesion at the craniocervical junction extending through the foramen of Magendi and concomitant hydrocephalus due to obstruction of the foramina of Luschkae. Microsurgical tumour resection was performed in the half-sitting position. Intraoperatively, the tumour arose from a vestigial fascicle of the spinal accessory nerve. At three month follow-up, neither radiological tumour recurrence nor neurological deficits were observed.