BUDAPEST — Semmelweis University performed a nerve-sparing laparoscopic surgery on May 6, 2026, to remove a rare pelvic schwannoma. The patient was discharged from the university hospital on May 7, 2026, the day after the procedure.

The Neuropelveology Program of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology collaborated with the Department of Neurosurgery and Neurointervention for the surgery. Dr. Attila Bokor, Head of the Endometriosis Center and the laparoscopic surgery unit, served as the lead surgeon from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The neurosurgical team included Dr. Loránd Erőss, Director of the Department of Neurosurgery and Neurointervention.

The surgery lasted approximately five hours. Specialists from Slovenia, Turkey, and Portugal observed the operation live. Neurosurgeons utilized a 32-channel electrode and a connected neuromonitor during the procedure.

Dr. Loránd Erőss said, "In this case, we encountered a very rare variant of schwannoma: A tumor growing in the retroperitoneal space behind the uterus in the lesser pelvis, which accounts for 1–3 percent of all schwannomas." Associate Professor Dr. Attila Bokor described the patient's condition, stating, "In this patient, a five-centimeter tumor developed behind the uterus at the point where the nerve exits the sacrum, compressing the nerve; the patient sought examination due to unrelenting pain radiating into the right leg."

Erőss said, "From a neurosurgical perspective, the challenge of the surgery was the laparoscopic localization of the tumor, but Dr. Attila Bokor's laparoscopic experience managed to overcome it." He added, "To facilitate long-term collaboration and ensure the successful execution of joint surgeries, we have also acquired a mobile neuromonitoring device." Bokor stated, "These are rare conditions; we perform 2–3 such planned surgeries every three months, which makes us the only ones in Hungary and neighboring countries to do so. Even on a European scale, only one French and one Swiss working group perform a similar number of such neuropelveological procedures."

The incidence of schwannoma is reported to be 0.3–0.5 cases per 100,000 people. Vestibular schwannoma constitutes 6–10 percent of all intracranial tumors. Erőss said, "She has now fully recovered; going forward, she only needs to undergo follow-up MRI scans at three months and one year."