{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,11]],"date-time":"2026-11-11T23:48:47Z","timestamp":1794440927950,"version":"4.9.1"},"reference-count":15,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,26]],"date-time":"2026-02-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772064000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:p>A 55-year-old male presented with 9\u202fmonths of left buttock and lower limb pain, initially misdiagnosed as lumbar disk herniation. Unsuccessful lateral recess block and physical therapy prompted further evaluation. Lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a right L5 nerve root cyst, yet symptoms worsened. Examination showed left paraspinal tenderness, grade IV left lower limb weakness, hyperesthesia, and positive straight leg raise tests. Selective nerve root block localized the lesion to the left L5 root; contrast-enhanced MRI identified an L4-5 facet joint cyst with inflammation. Arthroscopic-assisted Uni-portal Spinal Surgery (AUSS) endoscopic resection under general anesthesia was performed, with pathology confirming schwannoma. Postoperatively, pain intensity (numerical rating scale, NRS) decreased from 7 to 2 within 24\u202fh; discharge occurred on day 6. At 2-month follow-up, symptoms resolved completely. This case underscores the diagnostic pitfalls of lumbar schwannoma (mimicking disk herniation\/cysts) and highlights the roles of nerve root blocks, contrast MRI, and histopathology. AUSS endoscopy achieved definitive management.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1741404","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,26]],"date-time":"2026-02-26T06:56:19Z","timestamp":1772088979000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Spinal schwannoma missed on lumbar MRI: a case report"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Pengfei","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People\u2019s Hospital of Changde City)","place":["Changde, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ziyuan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Central South University","place":["Changsha, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenqin","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anesthesiology, Changde Hospital, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University (The First People\u2019s Hospital of Changde City)","place":["Changde, Hunan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"519","DOI":"10.3390\/cancers16030519","article-title":"Long-term functional outcomes following surgical treatment of spinal schwannomas: a population-based cohort study","volume":"16","author":"Singh","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cancers (Basel)"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2237","DOI":"10.1093\/neuonc\/noad171","article-title":"Unraveling schwannomas","volume":"25","author":"Flucke","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neurooncol"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"165","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wneu.2023.11.090","article-title":"Clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of 2542 patients with spinal schwannomas: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"182","author":"Alvarez-Crespo","year":"2024","journal-title":"World Neurosurg"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e51440","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.51440","article-title":"The importance of early detection of spinal tumors through magnetic resonance imaging in chiropractic practices","volume":"16","author":"Mok","year":"2024","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ejpain.2003.09.004","article-title":"Minimal clinically important changes in chronic musculoskeletal pain intensity measured on a numerical rating scale","volume":"8","author":"Salaffi","year":"2004","journal-title":"Eur J Pain"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e31758","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.31758","article-title":"Lumbar Schwannoma as a rare cause of radiculopathy in the chiropractic office: a case report","volume":"14","author":"Chu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3376","DOI":"10.1016\/j.asjsur.2024.03.201","article-title":"A case report of an intraspinal nerve-sheath tumor misdiagnosed as lumbar-disc herniation","volume":"47","author":"Zhou","year":"2024","journal-title":"Asian J Surg"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"CASE2585","DOI":"10.3171\/CASE2585","article-title":"A schwannoma look-alike: solitary fibrous tumor of the cauda equina. 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