Intramuscular cavernous hemangioma of the temporalis muscle

Hemangiomas are frequent benign hereditary vascular tumors. Intramuscular hemangiomas, a distinctive type of hemangioma occurring within the skeletal muscle, account for less than 1% of all hemangiomas. They occur more often in the trunk and extremity muscles, whereas the involvement of the temporal muscle is extremely rare. A 34-year-old man with a mass in his left temporal fossa was admitted. Computed tomographic scan showed no erosion of the bone, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an ovoid mass within the temporal muscle. The lesion was surgically excised, and histopathologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of cavernous hemangioma. The patient was not able to lift his left eyebrow right after the surgery. Two months after the surgery, the patient recovered from paralysis, and there was no recurrence of tumor 12 months after the surgery. We report the 27th cavernous hemangioma case of the temporalis muscle. Care must be taken to avoid possible stretch injury to facial nerve branches while resecting these tumors.