Solitary osseous hemangioma outside the spinal and craniofacial bones

Abstract

Bone hemangioma is mainly seen in the skull and spine, and rarely occurs in other bones. We report herein four cases of osseous hemangioma arising in rare sites: In two cases, on a rib; a faintly painful mass in one case located on the scapula; and progressive pain in one case located on the ischium. The tumors presented clinically as incidental lesions on radiographs. All cases had an aggressive appearance, such as defect of the cortex, a soft-tissue mass, and a sunburst-like appearance. Markedly high signal intensity on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images was a characteristic finding. Open biopsy resulted in severe blood loss, but needle biopsy was performed safely under computed tomography guidance. It is important to note that bone hemangiomas may be misdiagnosed as malignant tumors.