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Case Reports
. 2014 Oct 30;19(1):61-5.
doi: 10.1007/s40477-014-0137-y. eCollection 2016 Mar.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) appearance of hepatic myelolipoma

Guido Menozzi  1 , Valeria Maccabruni  2 , Giulia Marini  1 , Elisabetta Froio  3 , Elisa Garlassi  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) appearance of hepatic myelolipoma

Guido Menozzi et al. J Ultrasound. .

Abstract
in English, German

The case report is a description of a single case of hepatic myelolipoma, a very rare benign hepatic tumor, evaluated with contrast sonography, in a 72-year-old female. It was previously reported as hyperechoic lesions at sonography. CEUS features of the lesion were: homogeneous hyperenhancement in the arterial phase and a slight hyperenhancement in the portal venous phase typical of benign tumors. The case report shows CEUS may help in differential diagnosis between benign and malignant lesions, but only the biopsy of the tumor and the pathological evaluation allows the diagnosis.

Presentiamo la descrizione di un singolo caso di mielolipoma epatico, tumore benigno molto raro, studiato con mezzo di contrasto ecografico (CEUS) in una donna di 72 anni. Precedentemente la lesione era stata descritta ecograficamente come nodulo iperecogeno. Le caratteristiche CEUS erano quelle di una lesione con enhancement in fase arteriosa e debole enhancement in fase portale, caratteristiche tipiche di una lesione benigna. Il caso in esame mostra come la CEUS possa quindi aiutare nella diagnosi differenziale tra lesioni benigne e maligne, ma solo la biopsia del tumore e la valutazione patologica permettono la diagnosi finale.

Keywords: Contrast; Liver; Myelolipoma; Ultrasound.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Computed tomography of the liver after the administration of intravenous contrast (venous phase). A solid hypodense tumor with a diameter of 2 cm is seen in the right lobe
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Computed tomography of the liver after the administration of intravenous contrast (venous phase). After 2 years form the initial evaluation the diameter of the tumor is increased to about 3 cm
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Magnetic resonance of the abdomen. Fat saturation imaging with suppression of the signal from adipose tissue. A single hypo-intense lesion of the right liver is seen
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Gray-scale sonography of the right lobe of the liver. An hyperechoic tumor, 35 mm in diameter, with well-defined margin is shown between the calipers
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Color sonography of the hepatic mass. Vessels are identified inside the tumor
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) of the liver. The images are displayed on a split screen: on the left the CEUS, on the right the gray-scale images. a the arterial phase (20 s after the contrast medium injection) shows the mass evenly enhanced. b the portal venous phase (beyond 1 min after the contrast medium injection) shows the mass slightly hyperechoic in comparison with the parenchyma of the liver
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Pathologic examination of the biopsy. Hematoxylin–eosin stain. Magnification ×20. Erythroid, megakaryocytes and myeloid colonies are identifiable among fat cells
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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