Abstract
A 49-year-old woman was found to have a tumor behind the pancreas by abdominal ultrasonography. Abdominal CT showed a solitary tumor measuring 20 mm in diameter, to the right anterior side of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). Laparoscopic tumor resection was performed based on the preoperative diagnosis of schwannoma. Intraoperatively, the tumor was found to be in proximity to the superior mesenteric plexus, and resected. Histopathologic examination of the tumor revealed that it was composed of spindle cells. Immunohistologically, the tumor cells were positive for S-100 protein and negative for c-kit, CD34 and α-SMA. The tumor was definitively diagnosed as a schwannoma arising from the superior mesenteric plexus. At present, 7 months since the operation, the patient remains alive without recurrence.
