Retroperitoneal schwannomas are rare, usually benign tumors that originate in the neural sheath and account for only a small percentage of retroperitoneal tumors. The aim of this clinical study is to present our experience in managing retroperitoneal schwannomas with a review of the current literature and to point out the surgical technical difficulties we faced, due to the tumor's strange behavior that eroded the vertebra in two cases without causing malignant invasion.

The structure of health care in Greece is receiving increased attention to improve its cost-effectiveness. We sought to examine the epidemiological characteristics of patients presenting to the vascular emergency department of a Greek tertiary care hospital during a 2-year period. We studied all patients presenting to the emergency department of vascular surgery at Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece between 1^st January 2009 and 31st December 2010. Overall, 2452 (49.4%) out of 4961 patients suffered from pathologies that should have been treated in primary health care. Only 2509 (50.6%) needed vascular surgical intervention. The emergency department of vascular surgery in a Greek tertiary care hospital has to treat a remarkably high percentage of patients suitable for the primary health care level. These results suggest that an improvement in the structure of health care is needed in Greece.