Multiple cavernous hemangiomas of the orbit

Cavernous hemangioma of the orbit is often unilateral and solitary. Multiple cavernous hemangiomas of the orbit are extremely rare. The authors reported four patients who had more than two cavernous hemangiomas in one orbit.

Case reports.The clinical features, imaging findings, differential diagnosis and surgical management were presented.

We found 4 cases of multiple cavernous hemangiomas of the orbit out of 214 records of all patients with orbital cavernous hemangiomas who were referred to us from Jan 1,1986 to Dec 31,2000. Two patients were female and two were male. The mean age was 46.5 years, ranging from 37.0 to 57.0 years. The left orbits were affected in all patients, with two, three, eight and ten tumors respectively. The most common complaint was a painless, gradually progressive proptosis. The characteristic CT imaging features were multiple well circumscribed, round or ovoid masses that were sharply delineated from the surrounding tissue. B-scan ultrasonography showed round-shaped orbital masses with high internal reflectivity. The therapeutic outcomes of lateral or anterior orbitotomy were excellent.

Although rare, cavernous hemangioma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with multiple orbital mass lesions.