title: Intracranial capillary hemangioma: a description of four cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Capillary hemangiomas are benign vascular lesions involving the skin and soft tissues that commonly occur at birth or an early age. Intracranial capillary hemangiomas are extremely rare; only 14 cases have been reported the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe four patients with capillary hemangiomas. In two of these patients the lesions arose from the cavernous sinus. In the third patient, a large capillary hemangioma arising from the middle cranial fossa extended into the infratemporal fossa. The fourth patient had a left hemorrhagic temporoparietal capillary hemangioma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first two patients underwent a partial resection, followed by radiotherapy. Local tumor control was achieved in both cases, as shown by the follow-up magnetic resonance imaging. In the third patient the lesion was subtotally removed after embolization. Radiotherapy, performed one year after surgery because of recurrence, allowed tumor control. In the fourth patient surgical removal was total and no adjuvant radiotherapy was required after surgery; follow-up magnetic resonance imaging did not show any recurrence at the one-year follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Surgery is an option for symptomatic intracranial capillary hemangiomas. However, because partial removal is associated with a high recurrence rate, capillary hemangiomas that cannot be removed radically should be treated with radiotherapy, which offers the possibility of controlling lesion size and preventing tumor recurrence.
authors: Department of Neurosurgery, I.R.C.C.S. Neuromed, Pozzilli, Italy. roberta.morace@yahoo.it
authors: Roberta
authors: R
authors: Morace
authors: Alessandra
authors: A
authors: Marongiu
authors: Tommaso
authors: T
authors: Vangelista
authors: Vittorio
authors: V
authors: Galasso
authors: Claudio
authors: C
authors: Colonnese
authors: Felice
authors: F
authors: Giangaspero
authors: Gualtiero
authors: G
authors: Innocenzi
authors: Vincenzo
authors: V
authors: Esposito
authors: Giampaolo
authors: G
authors: Cantore
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D002426:Cavernous Sinus / Q000601:surgery; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D035301:Cranial Fossa, Middle / Q000601:surgery; D003399:Craniotomy; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018324:Hemangioma, Capillary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed