Misdiagnosis of brachial plexus schwannoma as cervical radiculopathy

Schwannomas are relatively rare but benign nerve sheath tumors deriving from Schwann cells with low tendency of transformation to malignancy. Extracranial shwannomas usually present insidiously and thus are often diagnosed incorrectly or after lengthy delays. We present the case of a 51 years old female patient with chronic cervical pain radiating in left upper limb who was treated as cervical radiculopathy for 5 years. By aggrevation of pain and paresthesia, imaging and electrodiagnostic study revealed schwannoma of brachial plexus. In case of radiating pain and paresthesia in upper limb (such as this case) symptoms can be misleading for cervical radiculopathy but careful examination especialy in persistence of symptoms with negative imaging results for radiculopathies are important and electrodiagnostic study can be helpful.