Cavernous hemagioma of the maxillary sinus: a rare cause of epistaxis.

Background: A case of cavernous hemangioma of the maxillary.

Methods: A 25 year old lady presented with history of nasal obstruction, recurrent epistaxis and headache. On exam she had a mass in the left osteomeatal complex that was friable and bled easily on palpation. Computerized tomography of the paranasal sinuses 2mm coronal cuts showed complete opacification of the left maxillary sinus and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 1.5 x 3 x 2.5 cm lobulated soft tissue mass lesion that enhanced with intravenous gadolinium administration, but no flow-void signals were present. Histologically, the mass was made up of dilated and anastomosing blood vessels.

Results: The radiologic findings may be attributed to a malignant lesion especially when extensive bone erosion is present.

Conclusions: Cavernous hemangioma of the maxillary sinus is a very rare benign entity that presents with recurrent epistaxis and nasal obstruction.