Schwannoma of the greater petrosal nerve

Facial nerve schwannomas are rare benign tumors,when occurring,they are loc ated most frequently in the distal fallopian canal and present as extracran ial masses. The predominant symptom is a progressive facial nerve paralysis . We report a 20-year-old woman with an intracranial schwannoma originating from the greater superficial petrosal nerve that had wide extension into t he pterygopalatine fossa. The motor facial nerve including the geniculate g anglion was not affected. The patient presented with vertigo, progressive h earing loss and mild facial nerve synkinesis but without a lacrimation defi cit. The tumor was detected by computed tomography and magnetic resonance i maging. The schwannoma was completely removed using an intracranial, extrad ural middle fossa approach during which complete preservation of the motor facial nerve was possible. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of an isolated schwannoma of the greater superficial petrosal nerve withou t involvement of the motor facial nerve.