Hepatic hemangioma. Diagnosis by emission computed tomography

Hepatic hemangiomas in an asymptomatic patient usually require no treatment. Therefore, noninvasive diagnosis of this entity is critical to avoid an unnecessary diagnostic laparotomy and/or closed biopsy, the latter potentially leading to massive or fatal hemorrhage. Numerous authors have reported on the use of computed tomography, ultrasound, and planar nuclear imaging to establish this diagnosis (1,2,3). The findings in a case studied by all modalities, including SPECT imaging, are reported.