Cavernous hemangioma occurred between the trapezius and splenius capitis muscle

Atypical presentation and management of an epithelioid hemangioma: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Epithelioid hemangioma is a rare, benign vascular lesion classically presenting with painless nodules in the head and neck region. Hemangioma lesions are typically small, located within the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, and rarely exceed 10 cm in size. Complete surgical excision, with negative margins, is the recommended treatment as local recurrence is common. We describe an unusual presentation of epithelioid hemangioma that, to our knowledge, has not been previously described in the literature, epithelioid.

Case presentation

We report an atypical case of a large epithelioid hemangioma lesion with deep intramuscular involvement in a 16-year-old male. Ultrasound and MRI showed a hypervascular mass on the patient’s left upper back, and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis. Treatment consisted of preoperative embolization followed by excision and local tissue rearrangement.

Conclusions

Epithelioid hemangiomas are considered uncommon in the pediatric population. Moreover, it is challenging to diagnose these lesions due to their similarities to other vascular anomalies. We aim to increase awareness of this condition and obtain more precision in diagnosis, thus standardizing the approach for those treating individuals with vascular anomalies.

MRI in migraineurs: are there abnormalities in the area where the myofascial trigger points are palpable and in volume measurements?

INTRODUCTION

Patients with migraine may present a higher quantity of myofascial trigger points (MTrP) and alterations in the cervical muscles when compared to non-migraineurs. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a robust method for the study of human soft tissues and could be useful to investigate these points.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the presence of MTrP in the descending fibers of the trapezius muscle in women with migraine and to quantify the muscle volume by MRI, correlating it with the headache characteristics.

METHODS

A cross-sectional analytic study was conducted among 14 women, eight in migraine group, and six in without migraine group. The presence of MTrP was evaluated using Simons' criteria, and linolenic acid capsules subsequently marked the areas. MRI was performed with 1.5T, T1-weighted sequence, and T2 in the axial, sagittal, and coronal planes. The T1-weighted sequences were performed with and without gadolinium contrast.

RESULTS

The T1-weighted image analysis with and without gadolinium did not show any signal alteration in the MTrP areas in both groups. The migraine group presented more MTrP in the trapezius muscle (MD [95%CI] = 1[1; 3]; MD [95%CI] = 1[0; 2] right and left side, respectively), and a smaller muscle volume (MD [95%CI] = -198.1[-338.7;-25.6], MD [95%CI] = -149.9[-325.05;-0.13] right and left side, respectively) than non-migraineurs. The migraine frequency presented a negative strong correlation with the trapezius volumes (r = -0.812; p = 0.014).

CONCLUSION

Migraineurs present more MTrP and a smaller muscle volume than non-migraineurs. The trapezius volume is negatively correlated with migraine frequency. MRI is not a suitable outcome measure for assessing MTrP.

Intramuscular hemangioma with hemorrhagic transformation arising from paraspinal muscles of posterior neck: A case report

RATIONALE

Hemangiomas are usually found in cutaneous or mucosal layers, less than 1% of hemangiomas develop in skeletal muscles. Intramuscular hemangioma (IH) in the head and neck areas is relatively infrequent, accounting for 15% of IH. Most of them are identified as a benign mass, and rapid changes in size or internal bleeding are rare.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 60-year-old female patient presented with a 2-week history of sudden onset posterior neck pain. There was no neurological deficit except limited neck motion due to pain. The palpable mass was noted on the paraspinal muscles of cervicothoracic junction, which was located midline to left side portion with tenderness.

DIAGNOSES

Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a round shaped, multi-lobulated, and well-defined mass lesion (4.1 × 2.6 × 0.9 cm) embedded from the inter-spinous space of T1-2 to the left paraspinal muscles. The lesion was iso-intense on T2-weighted images (WI), iso- to slightly low-intense on T1-WI, heterogeneous enhancement of intra- and peri-mass lesion on contrast-enhanced T1-WI. Vascular structures presented as signal voids were identified internally and around the mass lesion. Histological examination revealed a mixed-type hemangioma.

INTERVENTIONS

The mass was removed completely including some of the surrounding muscles where boundaries were unclear between the mass and surrounding muscles with ligation of peritumoral vessels. Dark-brown colored blood was drained from the ruptured tumor capsule during the dissection. There was no bony invasion.

OUTCOMES

The preoperative symptoms improved immediately after the operation. There is no residual or recurrence lesion by the 15-months follow-up.

LESSONS

IH with hemorrhagic transformation in the head and neck is extremely rare. In the case of intramuscular tumors accompanied by a sudden onset of severe acute pain, we recommend considering a differential diagnosis of IH with hemorrhagic transformation. Complete resection of the tumor mass including surrounding muscles is required to prevent recurrence.