An unusual cause of acute pulmonary embolism: giant hepatic hemangioma

Abstract

Hemangiomas are the most common benign hepatic tumors and are usually asymptomatic. Lesions measuring more than 4 cm in diameter are known as “giant hemangiomas” and may cause various symptoms or complications depending on the size, the location, and the degree of compression of adjacent structures. Pulmonary embolism is a very rare complication of giant hepatic hemangiomas. In this case report, we describe a patient with acute pulmonary emboli, which presumably originated from laminar thrombi in the inferior vena cava caused by compression by giant hepatic hemangiomas.

Keywords

• giant hepatic hemangioma
• acute pulmonary embolism
• inferior vena cava thrombosis