Vol.95 No.2 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 95 No. 2 February 2002
A Case of Large Vessel Type Intramasseteric Hemangioma
Masayuki Sakamoto
(Tokyo Metropolitan Fuchu Hospital)
Nobuo Kitahara and Satoshi Asanuma
(Showa Public Hospital)
A 26-year-old man presented with a soft mass in the cheek that had been present since childhood. MRI revealed a fluid intense mass in the masseter muscle, where the tumor, thought to be a hemangioma, was acting to slow the flow of blood. Angiography showed some spots on the branches of the facial artery from the portal phase to the venous phase, which was considered to be the area of congestion. Histopathological study revealed that the tumor was a lymphangioma with sclerotic veins and lymphatic vessels. Phlebosclerosis was considered as the possible cause of congestion and increase in venous pressure, in which case veins and lymphatic vessels might have multiplied to produce an intramasseteric hemangioma. The patient was free from disease after resection of the tumor along with a portion of the masseter muscle during a 2-year follow-up period. Since the large vessel type of intramuscular hemangioma increases passively, recurrence of the tumor after resection of sclerotic veins and arteries is rare.
Key words : large vessel type, intramasseteric hemangioma, lymphangioma, sclerotic vein, phlebosclerosis