Intraorbital schwannomas: Case report and systematic review of the literature through the history in the last 20 years

Intraorbital schwannomas account for 1 to 4% of all orbital tumors, they can remain subclinical for years before usually manifesting with diplopia and progressive proptosis. We present a rare case of schwannoma of the right infraorbital nerve. The patient underwent biopsy and gross total resection of the tumor in two different surgical times. At follow-up he experienced complete relief of preoperative excruciating pain. In order to discuss our case, we performed a literature review of the reported cases of intraorbital schwannomas in the last 20 years. 17 cases of sporadic intraorbital schwannoma have been previously reported. Although orbital schwannomas are rare lesions, they should be always included in the differential diagnosis of intraorbital tumors. Excisional surgery is a valid option in symptomatic patients radiological suspicion of schwannoma.