[Capillary hemangiomas of the lung presenting as ground glass opacities by high resolution computed tomography]

Capillary hemangiomas are often seen on the skin, mucosa, liver and other organs, but they are very rare in the lung. We report 3 cases of capillary hemangioma of the lung that presented as ground glass opacities(GGO) by computed tomography( CT). Mixed GGO was observed in 2 cases that increased in size after the follow-up period. The remaining case involved a pure GGO that was stable in size. They were suspected to be bronchioloalveolar carcinoma( BAC) based on the CT findings, and video assisted thoracoscopic surgery was performed in all 3 cases. It is difficult to distinguish capillary hemangioma from other malignant diseases such as BAC based on CT findings. As high resolution CT becomes more widely used, GGOs are becoming more frequently detected. When GGOs are detected by CT, capillary hemangiomas should be included in the differential diagnosis. Intraoperatively, an important surgical finding for capillary hemangiomas is that they became impalpable after repeated palpation. This surgical finding can be useful when identifying the region for biopsy and resection.