Laryngeal kaposiform hemangioendothelioma: case report and literature review

The kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is an uncommon vascular neoplasm of borderline or intermediate malignant potential in which involvement of the head and neck region is rare. A 5-year-old girl was admitted to the emergency room with abrupt massive hemoptysis. Transoral laryngoscopy revealed a round, reddish mass with active bleeding on the anterior portion of the left vocal fold region. Since re-hemoptysis and large amount of aspiration caused breathing difficulties for the patient, suspension exam was performed under general anesthesia. Mass excision and thorough bleeding control was performed with laser assisted laryngo-micro system. Postoperatively, there was no further bleeding. The pathologic diagnosis of the tumor was KHE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a KHE in the larynx presenting as recurrent hemoptysis in childhood.