Venous Hemangioma of the Superficial Cubital Vein - a Case Report

Abstract

Recently, venous aneurysm has attracted a great deal of attention and many articles about it have been reported. But venous hemangioma, which has similar symptoms with venous aneurysm, has little concerned. We herein report a case of venous hemangioma and discuss about differential diagnosis between venous aneurysm and hemangioma. A 56-year-old woman attended our hospital for examination and treatment of the tumor at the left elbow. Although a small and soft tumor had been recognized on the same aspect about 10 years previously, it had been ignored because of asymptomatic. However, the tumor had recently increased in size gradually and caused dull ache and numbness. On physical examination, a nonpulsatile , soft and smooth-surfaced tumor 2×3 cm in size was noticed at the left cubital fossa. The skin over the tumor was colored dark-bluish. The tumor was reduced the size by the elevation of the arm above the head but not completely disappeared. As these findings, we suspected localized dilated venous disease; that is venous aneurysm or venous hemangioma, and planed duplex scan echogram, venogram and MRI. These examinations showed that the tumor originated from the superficial cubital vein had septa in it and was shaped like “multiple loculations”. Accordingly, we diagnosed the tumor as venous hemangioma presumptively, and extracted it under local anesthesia. Macroscopic findings of the resected specimen showed the tumor consisted of thick-wall and multiple lumens containing with red thrombi and “phleboliths”. Microscopic findings revealed the tumor composed of variably sized veins which had well-developed muscular wall. These macroscopic and microscopic findings of the specimen were compatible with venous hemangioma.