[A case report of hemangioma of the petrous bone which caused facial spasm and facial palsy].

A rare case of hemangioma of the petrous bone is described. A 31-year-old woman suffered from right facial twitching and palsy. So she underwent a craniectomy intending microvascular decompression of the facial nerve, but no compressing vessels or tumors were found. Three years later, however, her facial fasciculation disappeared spontaneously, but facial weakness deteriorated and she began to feel vertigo. On admission, neurological examination revealed right facial palsy of the peripheral type, slight hearing disturbance, and canal palsy. Bone-window CT and T2-weighted MRI revealed a small tumor destroying the petrous bone near the geniculate portion of the facial nerve. Using the epidural subtemporal approach, the tumor was totally removed and the facial nerve remained intact. Histologically it was diagnosed as hemangioma. Hemangioma of the skull base bone is rare, and it is interesting that the tumor in this case caused abnormal facial contraction like hemifacial spasm.