Ancient schwannoma of the cervical vagus nerve: a rare benign neurogenic tumor

Schwannomas are benign, slow-growing encapsulated tumors that originate from Schwann cells of the nerve sheaths. Schwannoma originating from the cervical vagus nerve is an extremely rare neoplasm that usually occurs in men between the 3rd and 6th decades of life. Ancient schwannoma is a rare variant that was first described by Ackerman and Taylor in 1951 as a long standing degenerative schwannoma that presented with wide areas of hyalinized matrix. A case of ancient Schwannoma of the cervical vagus nerve in a 56-year-old male who presented to our department with history of a firm and painless mass lesion on right side of the neck is being reported here.