Pulmonary cavernous hemangioma combined with smooth muscle hyperplasia: a case report and review of the literature

Background Cavernous hemangiomas are usually located in the liver, skin, and subcutaneous tissues. Although they can arise from any organ, cavernous hemangiomas rarely occur as a pulmonary tumor. We herein report a rare case of a pulmonary cavernous hemangioma that was surgically resected. Case presentation A woman in her 40s was found to have 2 well-defined nodules in the lower lobe of the left lung by computed tomography during following up of bladder cancer. She had a history of surgery for tetralogy of Fallot at 6 years old and pulmonary valve replacement for pulmonary valve insufficiency in her late 30s. She had also undergone surgery for bladder cancer. Although there was no accumulation of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose on positron emission tomography (PET), the tumor slowly grows. Surgical resection was therefore performed to obtain a definitive diagnosis. The postoperative histological examination revealed an encapsulated nodule comprising large, dilated vessels lined with vascular endothelium and filled with blood, which led to the diagnosis of a pulmonary cavernous hemangioma. Conclusion We experienced a rare case of pulmonary cavernous hemangioma and reviewed the previous reports.