Thyroid hemangioma: a case report with a review of the literature

A 53-year-old man was found serendipitously to have increased blood-pool uptake in the right lobe of the thyroid during a radionuclide ventriculography study for left ventricular function. Primary thyroid hemangioma is a rare condition, with only two cases reported in the literature. Secondary hemangioma may occur as a result of fine-needle aspiration. This technique may cause hematoma formation, which generally resolves normally, but on rare occasions it can lead to cavernous hemangioma formation. In patients with a thyroid swelling who have a cold nodule on a thyroid scan and only blood on repeated fine-needle aspiration, Tc-99m erythrocyte blood-pool imaging may be performed to diagnose hemangioma.