Abstract: Objective To improve the diagnosis and surgical treatment of cervical neuriemmona. Method The clinical data of 46 patients with schwannoma of head and neck from January 2003 to December 2012 were reviewed. Results Clinical symptoms and signs, auxiliary examination (e.g. ultrasound imaging, CT, MRI) and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) might be useful in the diagnosis of schwannomas, while the postoperative histopathologic examination was the gold standard. The origin of tumors were nerves, in which brachial plexus was the most common. All the patients undertook the surgery. During the follow-up, there was no recurrence. All of them showed no evident neurological sequelae except for the 14 patients who presented neurological symptoms before the operation and the other 2 patients whose nerves of origin were sacrificed. Conclusion Tumor resection is still the most effective treatment available for patients with schwannomas. Although the tumour is benign, surgeons should choose the appropriate approaches to maintain the integrity of nerve based on the tumour's size, location, clinical symptoms and signs, and the patients' desire.

Key words: Head and neck neoplasms, Surgery, Otolaryngology, Neurilemmoma