CT and MRI features of cavernous haemangioma of internal auditory canal

A left internal auditory canal (IAC) cavernous haemangioma is reported in a 45-year-old Saudi male. The lesion was associated with rapidly deteriorating hearing loss and facial nerve dysfunction. CT showed a calcified enhanced IAC lesion while T1 weighted MRI showed an isointense contrast enhancing lesion bulging into the porus acousticus. The imaging features of the three usual IAC lesions--meningioma, acoustic neuroma and cavernous haemangioma--were compared. Calcification/ossification appear more commonly in cavernous haemangioma than in the other two lesions while facial nerve dysfunction is a clinical hallmark of IAC cavernous haemangioma.