Cavernous hemangioma of the internal auditory canal

Hemangiomas rarely occur in the internal auditory canal. These tumors originate from the capillary bed of the epineurium surrounding the nerve and can either compress or infiltrate the nerve. Depending on location and the nerve of origin, these lesions can cause severe and progressive sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, facial nerve palsy, or vertigo even when they are relatively small. The presence of a small contrast-enhancing tumor in the internal auditory canal accompanied by severe sensorineural hearing loss and facial nerve palsy, should raise the suspicion of a hemangioma. Early recognition and surgical intervention in these benign tumors may improve the chance of preserving the functional integrity of the facial nerve and provides better results after nerve reconstruction. Due to their relative small size, the temporal bone CT-scan may show no evidence of pathological widening of the internal auditory canal or the typical intralesional calcifications at the time of presentation. MRI with Gadolinium is the imaging method of choice and a high index of clinical suspicion is necessary for the diagnosis of these tumors. In this paper we report about a 51-year-old male presented with right-sided sensory-neural deafness and facial nerve palsy, accompanied by severe tinnitus and ipsilateral loss of vestibular function due to a cavernous hemangioma in the internal auditory canal.