Robotic excision of a large retroperitoneal schwannoma

V. Bindal, P. Bhatia

Retroperitoneal schwannoma is a rare tumor which is often painless arising from Schwann cells of peripheral nerve sheaths and predominantly occur in females between 2nd to 5th decade of life. Schwannomas usually do not exceed a diameter of 5 to 6 cm but larger tumors have been reported. They are rarely located in retroperitoneum, as the usually affected structures are the cranial or peripheral nerves. Complete surgical excision is the mainstay of therapy. This video depicts use of robotic technology to provide the minimally invasive advantage to a patient who presented with large retroperitoneal tumor on right side. This tumor was adhrenet to lateral wall of IVC and displacing the right kidney and renal vessels anteriorly. She underwent robotic tumor excision using da Vinci Si HD Surgical System.