Hemangioma of the abdominal wall in infancy

TL;DR

A rare case of a hemangioma in an infant's abdominal wall is reported, emphasizing its diagnosis and successful surgical treatment.

Contribution

This case report adds to the limited literature on abdominal wall hemangiomas in infants and highlights diagnostic and management considerations.

Findings

Contrast-enhanced CT and MRI confirmed a hypervascular abdominal wall mass consistent with hemangioma.

Surgical excision was safely performed due to the lesion's high vascularity, with no recurrence observed.

Histopathology confirmed a benign hemangioma with organized hematoma and dystrophic calcification.

Abstract

Hemangiomas are common benign vascular tumors in infancy, but their occurrence in the abdominal wall is rare. We report a 6-month-old female infant with a left-sided palpable abdominal wall mass. Ultrasound revealed a well-defined, vascularized soft tissue mass, but its precise location was unclear. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed a 4.3 × 4 × 4 cm heterogeneous mass with peripheral arterial enhancement and centripetal filling, raising suspicion for a vascular malformation or hemangioma. Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a hypervascular mass in the lateral-posterior abdominal wall. Due to the lesion’s high vascularity, percutaneous biopsy was considered high-risk, and complete surgical excision was performed. Histopathology confirmed a benign hemangioma with organized hematoma and dystrophic calcification. The patient had an uneventful recovery, with no recurrence observed at 40-day and 6-month follow-ups. This case highlights the importance of considering hemangiomas in the differential diagnosis of abdominal wall masses in infants.

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