Schwannoma of the trachea; a new resection technique.

Tumors of the trachea are rare, especially schwannoma. We diagnosed a 27-year-old man with schwannoma of the trachea after he was admitted to our hospital with complaints of progressive dyspnea and wheezing. He was treated as having bronchial asthma initially, but his signs and symptoms did not improve with conventional therapy. Flexible fiberscopy revealed the presence of a submucosal tumor in the subglottic area. Tracheal tomography, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed the presence of a mass in the trachea that extended from the cricoid cartilage level to the second tracheal ring. After tracheostomy, we removed the tumor from a tracheostoma upwards to the larynx without a laryngofissure, using forceps and scissors usually used for laryngomicrosurgery and endoscopes usually used for sinus surgery. No complications developed during or after the procedure. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the removal of a tracheal schwannoma by this technique.