Schwannoma arising from the sublingual glandular branch of the lingual nerve radiologically masquerading as sublingual gland tumor

We report a rare case of schwannoma arising from the sublingual glandular branch of the lingual nerve radiologically masquerading as sublingual gland tumor. A 42-year-old female was referred to our department with a painless swelling in the left submandibular region. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a well-circumscribed, heterogeneous low-density tumor with cystic change in the left sublingual region. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a well-circumscribed, heterogeneous sublingual tumor with low-signal intensity on T1-weighted image and high-signal intensity in T2-weighted image. The lesion was diagnosed radiologically as benign sublingual gland tumor. The patient underwent resection of sublingual gland tumor under general anesthesia. There was no definitive continuity between the tumor and the sublingual gland, and the tumor originated from sublingual glandular branch of the lingual nerve. Pathological examination of the specimen showed schwannoma with highly cellular areas (Antoni A) and hypocellular areas (Antoni B). The postoperative course was uneventful without lingual nerve palsy, and there was no recurrence 4 years after surgery.