Chorioangiomatosis presenting with severe anemia and heart failure in a newborn

Although chorioangiomas are the most common placental tumors, multiple chorioangiomas ( or chorioangiomatosis) are extremely rare. We report a female newborn at 37 weeks of gestation presenting with severe anemia, thrombocytopenia, heart failure, and intrauterine growth retardation. The pathological examination of the placenta revealed chorioangiomatosis explaining the pathophysiology of the symptoms presented. The patient was treated successfully with erythrocyte and thrombocyte transfusions and was discharged after full recovery. We conclude that evaluating placental lesions may be of great value in explaining severe problems during the fetal and the neonatal period and thus prevents performing unnecessary clinical investigations. Copyright (C) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel