[Capillary hemangioma of the umbilical cord as a cause of polyhydramnios]

The authors report on an encapsulated, fibrous capillary hemangioma, 4 cm in diameter, located at the insertion of the umbilical cord, which caused a polyhydramnion in the 26th week of gestation. The diagnosis of capillary hemangioma was confirmed by multiple sonographic examinations. In the 27th week of gestation, 700 ml of amniotic fluid were drained by a single transabdominal amniocentesis. The child had to be delivered by cesarean section in the 36th week of gestation owing to a breech presentation in a primigravida mother and signs of respiratory placental insufficiency. No malformations of any kind were found in the newborn. The importance of the capillary hemangioma as the cause of a polyhydramnion is discussed with regard to differential diagnosis.