Magnetic resonance imaging of infantile hemangioendothelioma

Infantile hemangioendothelioma is the most common benign hepatic tumor during infancy and also follows a benign course. During the routine physical examination of a 10-month-old female patient, masses of the liver were incidentally found. Laboratory studies revealed elevated liver function tests but normal alpha-fetoprotein level. Following the ultrasound (US) examination that demonstrated multiple hypoechoic liver masses, we performed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for further characterization of these lesions. Imaging features of the lesions were thought to be consistent with infantile hemangioendotheliomas especially based on dynamic post-contrast images. Although the patient's clinical condition was stable and she did not have any serious symptoms indicating congestive heart failure or coagulopathy, in terms of having a definitive diagnosis and ruling out a malignancy, a tru-cut liver biopsy was performed and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis.