Periodic appearance and disappearance of a chest wall (serratus anterior development) cavernous hemangioma that was finally resected in a child

Primary chest wall tumors occur infrequently; in particular, cavernous hemangioma of the chest wall is an extremely rare disease. We report a case of child with cavernous hemangioma of the chest wall, which was successfully resected. Obvious enlargement of the tumor and the appearance of pain were observed during a 2-year follow-up. In the present case, transcutaneous ultrasonography showed the appearance and disappearance of the mass. This was considered to be caused by the transfer of contents between the shallow and deep parts of the tumor. This may have resulted from serratus anterior muscle movement between the two-layered tumor. Transcutaneous ultrasonography, as well as magnetic resonance imaging, was therefore extremely effective for preoperative diagnosis. Transcutaneous ultrasonography is easily performed, even in children, such as in the present case. Because of its simplicity and usefulness, transcutaneous ultrasonography may be considered as the first-line imaging modality for diagnosis.