Clínica de Diagnóstico por Imagem, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Definition

Hemangiomas are benign tumors made up of blood vessels. They are classified as:

1. Cavernous
2. Capillary (strawberry)
3. Mixed

Cavernous hemangiomas are masses of dilated vessels deep in the skin, containing large blood-filled spaces. They appear as pale, skin-colored, red, or blue masses. They can be responsible for hydrops in prenatal period. Their spontaneous resolution can occur.

Strawberry hemangiomas are bright red protuberant masses that may occur on any area of the body, especially on the face, scalp, back and chest. They vary in size from pinhead to several centimeters in diameter. They may be flat or slightly raised. They affect about 1-3% of infants with male to female ratio 1:3. They may be isolated or multiple and their spontaneous regression can also occur.

Case report

We report a case of triplets with one fetus affected by cavernous hemangioma in the posterior part of the thorax. Here are some ultrasound, MRI and postnatal pictures that we obtained.

Images 1, 2. 28th week of pregnancy: 2D sagittal (left) and transverse (right) planes at the level of thoracic spine showing prominent skin tumor"s mass behind the back (arrows).

Images 3, 4. 28th week of pregnancy: 3D image of the tumor (left) and MRI image (right) showing the tumor (hemangioma) of one of the triplet fetuses (arrows).

Images 5, 6. Postnatal MRI and postnatal appearance of the baby with prominent hemangioma in dorsal region at the level of the thorax.

Image 7. Pathological specimen showing round tumor representing cavernous hemangioma.

References