Characteristic MR Imaging Findings of Cavernous Hemangiomas in the Cavernous Sinus

Summary: Cavernous hemangiomas occur very rarely in the cavernous sinus and are difficult to diagnose preoper-atively. MR images obtained in five patients with surgically verified cavernous hemangiomas in the cavernous sinus were reviewed. MR images showed hypointensity on T1-weighted images and well-defined hyperintensity on T2-weighted images with marked homogeneous enhancement after contrast material administration. We report the char-acteristic MR imaging observations for these lesions. Extraaxial cavernous hemangiomas are rare and very rarely arise in the cavernous sinus (1–5). Diag-nostically differentiating hemangiomas from tumors such as meningiomas or schwannomas at this site is often difficult (5). We report the MR imaging findings of five cavern