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¹First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Faculty of Medicine, Departments of Thoracic Surgery, Xi'an, P.R. China
²First Affiliated Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Faculty of Medicine, Departments of Oncology, Xi'an, P.R. China DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.4091-11.1 Schwannoma is a benign nerve sheath tumor composed of Schwann cells. A solitary schwannoma in the thorax is not rare, but a patient with Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) and multiple thoracic schwannomas is extremely rare. We report the case of a 27-year-old woman with NF2 and two large schwannomas in her mediastinum and chest wall. We performed thoracic surgery on the patient, but she developed a cerebral hernia immediately after the operation. We report this case in order to analyze the relationship between the operation and cerebral hernia and find a way to prevent this consequence in the future. We conclude that a cranial MRI must be performed for patients with multiple thoracic schwannomas before the surgery. If there is a tumor inside the cranium, the disease in the brain must be treated first to prevent the occurrence of cerebral hernia or hemorrhage. Keywords : Schwannoma, Neurofibromatosis type 2, Hemorrhage, Cerebral hernia, Thoracic surgery