Abstract
A 44 years-old Japanese female was seen with the chief complaints of right cheek swelling. At the initial visit, a subcutaneous diffuse swelling, measuring 40mm in diameter, was seen in the right masseter muscle region. The swelling revealed itself as an elastic soft mass immediately following the contraction of masseter muscle by chewing or biting hard, without spontaneous pain or tenderness. The mass disappeared soon after the muscle relaxation. No bruit or palpable pulsation was present over the mass. Such imaging modalities were done preoperatively as ultrasonography and dynamic enhanced CT. The physical examination was otherwise normal. Preoperative diagnosis of hemangioma of the right cheek was obtained by clinical findings and imaging modalities. Surgery was performed under general anesthesia, the mass lesion removed by extraoral approach and the tumor, measuring 30×17×15mm, was located on the right masseter muscle. Phlebolith, measuring 5mm in diameter, was found within the tumor. Histopathological diagnosis was intramuscular hemangioma. As of 15 months after surgery, the patient follows an uneventful course with neither complica tions nor signs of swelling at contraction of the masseter region and of recurrence.
