[Spiral volumetric CT: detection and characterization of small hepatic cavernous hemangioma]

Twelve patients with 25 hepatic cavernous "hemangiomas of less than 2 cm in diameter received spiral volumetric CT (SVCT) examination using the special scanning programs named "double-phase return scan" or "triple-phase scan", which referred to arterial-, portal-dominant and/or late phases. Twenty-three lesions were not only detected, but characterized by applying these programs, although it has been difficult to detect such smaller lesions with the single level dynamic CT because of respiratory misregistration or multi-spreading lesions. SVCT made it possible to scan the whole liver during single breath-hold without any misregistrations. SVCT should become an indispensable procedure to assess subcentimeter lesions in the liver.