title: Vaginal angiomatosis: differential diagnosis of a rare case.
abstract: Vaginal angiomatosis is regarded as part of a very rare entity of benign vascular tumors of the female genital tract. The incidence of these tumors is extremely low. The rarity of this disease and lack of distinctive features poses a problem of differential diagnosis. We present the case of a 51-year-old female with grade III uterine prolapse and a bleeding vaginal wall mass. Violaceous irregular soft tissue with hemorrhagic spots was observed in the lower third of the posterior vaginal wall. The patient underwent surgery for colpohysterectomy with vaginal wall mass excision. Surgical excision was curative, and no recurrences were observed after 12 months of follow-up. The aim of our study is to present a rare but representative case. This will hopefully increase the level of awareness regarding this condition so that physicans will keep it in mind during differential diagnosis of similar clinical cases. Furthermore, it highlights the important role of pathological examination for the definitive diagnosis of angiomatosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grauso
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Balbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Pathology, ASL NA1, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: D'Aponte
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomic Pathology and Cytopathology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ronchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomic Pathology and Cytopathology, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Falcone
authors.affiliation: Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, Second University of Naples, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico Michelino
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Messalli
keywords: Angiomatosis; hemangioma tumor; vagina