Endoscopic endonasal removal of orbital schwannoma: focus on surgical technique

Orbital schwannomas are a rare disease, representing about 1% of orbital tumors, potentially involving any subsite within the orbit. They usually present with painless, nonpulsatile proptosis, while diplopia and vision impairment due to extrinsic ocular muscles or optic nerve involvement are rarely observed.1 A wait-and-see policy is advocated in case of small asymptomatic lesions. However, if progressive dimensional increase or symptoms are observed, surgical resection represents the treatment of choice.2 Different surgical approaches have been proposed, mainly depending on tumor dimension and location inside the orbit, as well as surgical expertise. With advances in technology,3 knowledge,4 and surgical techniques,5 transnasal endoscopic approaches have emerged as a valid option in the management of lesions located medially to the optic nerve, with the advantage of improved visualization and overall decreased morbidity as compared with external approaches.6 We present the case of a 19-year-old woman, affected by an intraextraconal orbital schwannoma located in the left orbit's inferomedial aspect, with a 1-year history of left proptosis associated with retrobulbar pain exacerbated by the upward gaze. The lesion was completely removed with an endoscopic transnasal approach (Video 1), without evidence of postoperative sequelae or visual impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging performed 3 months after surgery showed good surgical results without evidence of persistence of disease. A multidisciplinary approach, involving different specialists familiar with orbital anatomy and physiology, is required for a proper management of patients affected by orbital pathologies.