Abstract
A 65 year-old female case of paratracheal cavernous hemangioma in the mediastinum was reported. She had suffered from hoarseness repeatedly for 3 years. Bronchofiberscopy disclosed a lusterless and erosive mucosa, loss of folds with bleeding tendency from below the vocal cord to the left main bronchus. A gray coarse nodule was located in the upper trachea below the vocal cord. These findings raised the very strong suspicion of primary malignant tracheal tumor or malignant invasion from the mediastinum. CT scan demonstrated a paratracheal mass with a calcification nodule. Bronchioarteriography showed increased vascularity and pooling of the contrast media along the trachea. No malignant cells were found in several cytological examinations of sputum. A biopsy of the tracheal mucosa displayed metaplastic changes. Mediastinoscopy and open biopsy were performed. Fat-like shrunk tissue with a strong bleeding tendency surrounded the trachea, and the tissue could be removed easily from the trachea. Microscopically the tissue consisted of wide cavernous spaces with a monomorph endthelial lining. This case was diagnosed as mediastinal cavernous hemangioma. Cavernous hemangioma is rare with a low incidence of approximately 1-1.5% of all mediastinal tumors.
