Sciatica secondary to sciatic nerve schwannoma.

A 45-year-old man attended neurosurgery department for right lower limb burning pain of three months duration. The pain was intermittent, exacerbated by sitting position, and radiated from the proximal posterior part of the right lower limb to the lateral area of the leg, and the dorsal aspect of the foot. The pain was not severe enough to disturb sleep, or to hinder physical activities. The deep palpation of the posterior part of the right thigh revealed a soft tissue mass, and reproduced the same pain. Tinel sign was absent. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a mass involving the right sciatic nerve in its proximal portion [Figure 1a and b]. The right sciatic nerve was exposed through a posterior approach. At operation the tumor was surrounded by a capsule (the epineurium) which allowed complete enucleation without damage to the