Diagnosis: Hypoglossal nerve schwannoma of the submandibular space
Schwannoma is a benign nerve sheath tumor that is often found in the head and neck. Up to 45% of schwannomas are known to appear in this region, with most occurring intracranially.1,2 In the subset of extracranial head and neck schwannomas, Kragh et al3 found that over 50% occur in the lateral neck. Schwannomas of the hypoglossal nerve are extremely rare, and it is even rarer to see this type of tumor without intracranial involvement.4 There are few case reports of hypoglossal schwannomas occurring exclusively extracranially and even fewer if only those occurring in the submandibular space are included. 4