Orbital cavernous hemangioma with bone erosion.

PURPOSE: To report a rare computed tomography (CT) feature in one case of orbital cavernous hemangioma (OCH).

METHODS

Case report. The clinical features, CT findings, and pathological examination are presented.

RESULTS

A 43-year-old Chinese man developed slowly progressive proptosis and decreased vision in his left eye over 13 years. The best-corrected visual acuity was 20/400 OS. Fundus examination showed moderate disc pallor in the left eye. CT scan revealed a 3.7 x 3.5-cm homogeneous soft tissue mass occupying nearly the whole retrobulbar space. There was focal bone erosion of both the deep lateral orbital wall and deep superior wall. At surgery, a 3.5 x 3.0 x 3.3-cm purplish, well-defined, round mass was removed intact without complication. The histopathologic examination proved it to be OCH. One year later, the visual acuity recovered to 20/15.

CONCLUSION

Patients with OCH may show bone erosion on CT scan, so the presence of bone defect on CT scan should consider the possibility of OCH.