Abstract
A 71-year-old woman visited our hospital with a complaint of heartburn. Fluoroscopic examination of the stomach revealed a filling defect with a smooth margin on the lesser curvature of the cardia. Endoscopic examination of the stomach revealed a hemispheric mass with a bridging fold on the anterior wall of the cardia. From these findings it was difficult to differentiate a gastric submucosal tumor from an extrinsic compression. Under photofluorography the submucosal area was visualized with a water-soluble contrast medium. There was a gap between the contrast medium and the mass. The compression was found to be due to a tumor in the area outside the stomach, and the patient was admitted to our hospital for a detailed examination. She underwent ultrasonographic examination of the abdomen, CT, angiography, laparoscopy, etc. after admission. An operation was performed with the diagnosis of hepatic hemangioma. The tumor, 3.0×6.0 cm, was located in the left hepatic lobe and was reddish purple and multilobular. Histopathologically, the tumor was seen to have vascular cavities of various sizes, and its lumen consisted of a layer of endotheliocytes. A diagnosis of hepatic cavernous heman-gioma was made. It is often difficult to differentiate a gastric submucosal tumor from a compression outside of the stomach. It was considered that submucosography can be an effective means for differentiating them.
