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| Year : 2008 | Volume
: 19
| Issue : 4 | Page : 647-648 |
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| Female Urethral Hemangioma |
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Vinayak S Rohan, Abhinandan M Hanji, Jayesh J Patel, Rajen A Tankshali
Department of Surgical Oncology, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad-380016, India
Click here for correspondence address and email
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How to cite this article:
Rohan VS, Hanji AM, Patel JJ, Tankshali RA. Female Urethral Hemangioma. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transpl 2008;19:647-8 |
To the Editor,
Hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors most commonly involving liver and skin while involvement of the genitourinary tract is uncommon. Urethral hemangiomas are rare and only 20 cases have been reported in literature. [1] Ninety percent of urethral hemangiomas are seen in men. We herewith report a case of urethral hemangioma in a female patient and discuss its management.
A 60-year old woman presented to the gynecology department of our hospital with a mass protruding from the introitus and occasional genital bleeding. She was examined and was referred to the surgical oncology department for further management. Physical examination revealed an erythematous, polypoidal mass surrounding the urethral meatus [Figure 1]. The lesion was 2.5 cm. in diameter and was firm in consistency and was not friable. Rest of the clinical examination did not reveal any significant findings.
Laboratory values were all normal. As it was a solitary distal urethral lesion, a decision was made to do a wide excision of the lesion. After the excision, the urethral mucosa was everted and sutured. An indwelling Foley catheter was kept in place for two weeks. Histopathology showed cavernous hemangioma with large dilated blood vessels and flattened endothelial cells [Figure 2]. The patient is asymptomatic three months after surgery.
Hemangiomas of the urinary tract are rare and have been described in the kidney, ureter, bladder, prostate and urethra. [1] Urethral hemangiomas are rare and very few cases have been reported in women. [2] These tumors are believed to be congenital in origin, arising from the embryonic rest of the unipotent angioblastic cells that fail to develop into normal blood vessels. [3] Others have implicated a theory of local varicosity and chronic irritation. It may coexist with external hemangiomas and congenital disorders like Sturge Weber or Klippel-Trenaunay- Weber syndrome More Details. Common symptoms of presentation include bloody urethral discharge, hematuria, and urinary retention. Differential diagnosis includes caruncle, prolapse, periurethral abscess, polyps, warts, and malignant lesions which include, in decreasing order of frequency, squamous cell carcinoma, transitional cell, adenocarcinoma, sarcoma and melanoma.
Treatment of urethral hemangioma includes oral steroids for small lesions and various endoscopic modalities like electrocautery and laser ablation. [4] Single, localized lesions should undergo wide excision. [5] Although benign in nature, these tumors have propensity to recur unless completely excised.
 References | |  |
| 1. | Jahn H, Nissen HM. Haemangioma of the urinary tract: Review of the literature. Br J Urol 1991;68(2):113-7.  |
| 2. | Tabibian L, Ginsberg DA. Thrombosed urethral hemangioma. J Urol 2003;170(5): 1942. |
| 3. | Uchida K, Fukuta F, Ando M, Miyake M. Female urethral hemangioma. J Urol 2001; 166(3):1008. |
| 4. | Khaitan A, Hemal AK. Urethral hemangioma: laser treatment. Int Urol Nephrol 2000;32(2):285-6. |
| 5. | Parshad S, Yadav SP, Arora B. Urethral hemangioma: an unusual cause of hematuria. Urol Int 2001;66(1):43-5. |
Correspondence Address:
Vinayak S Rohan
Department of Surgical Oncology, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad-380016
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
PMID: 18580030 
[Figure 1], [Figure 2] |
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