Atypical Hemangioma of The Breast: a Diagnostic Pitfall in Breast Fine-Needle Aspiration.

We report on the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology of atypical hemangioma of the breast in a 52-yr-old female. The patient presented with a 2-cm palpable left breast mass. An FNA of the mass was performed following a mammogram, corresponding to the palpable breast mass. The FNA demonstrated the presence of numerous atypical single spindle cells scattered throughout a hemorrhagic background. An unequivocal diagnosis of malignancy was not rendered in this case. However, the degree of cytologic atypia suggested a malignant process, and a recommendation for an excisional biopsy was made. Atypical hemangioma should therefore be included in the differential diagnosis of angiosarcoma and other benign and malignant spindle-cell lesions of the breast encountered on cytologic samples

Dural Cavernous Angioma of The Posterior Sagittal Sinus: Case Report.

BACKGROUND: Extraaxial cavernous hemangiomas (cavernomas) are very rare lesions, and less than 20 descriptions of these lesions outside the middle fossa have been reported. In this report, we describe a dural cavernous angioma involving the posterior sagittal sinus and discuss the clinical, radiological, operative, and histological features of this very uncommon lesion. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 31-year-old right-handed male presented with headache and decreasing visual acuity. Severe bilateral papilledema was found on fundoscopic examination. Neurological examination demonstrated a minor right temporal field cut. Brain magnetic resonance imaging with contrast demonstrated a 2.5 x 2.5 cm hyperintense enhancing mass in the midline, which was contiguous with the posterior margin of the falx cerebri. The patient underwent a bilateral occipital craniotomy centered on the lesion. The histological features were consistent with cavernous angioma. CONCLUSION: This report demonstrates that although extra axial cavernomas are quite rare, they must be included in the differential diagnosis of enhancing lesions along the posterior sagittal sinus. The operative removal of these lesions can be quite treacherous and usually requires a careful reapproximation of the patent sinus after lesion excision

Hemorrhage into Synovial Cysts as a Cause of Acute Radicular Symptoms: Report of Seven Cases and Review of the Literature

Objective: Acute hemorrhagic synovial cysts are frequently misdiagnosed because the entity is rare. The purpose of is this article to provide insight on the clinical presentation, diagnosis and surgical treatment of this condition.Summary of background data: Twenty-nine cases reported in the literature were reviewed and presented in this article.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed seven patients with MRI and exam correlated lesions that underwent resection of a synovial cyst. All patients had acute onset of symptoms, defined as less than three months, and all patients had radiographic and histopathologic evidence of hemorrhage into a synovial cyst. Presenting symptoms included paresthesias, motor loss, or pain in the distribution correlating to MRI location of the lesion.Results: All patients showed improvement on physical exam and reduced pain. No patients required further surgical intervention during the follow-up period

Determination of Carotid Plaque Risk By Ultrasonic Tissue Characterization.

This in vitro study investigated the ability of ultrasonic tissue characterization (UTC) to discriminate between plaques from asymptomatic and symptomatic patients and to compare UTC findings with quantitative measurements of plaque morphology. A total of 34 plaque specimens removed at carotid endarterectomy were scanned transversely at intervals of 1 mm, and compared to tissue cross-sections examined by optical microscopy employing computer-assisted planimetry. UTC was performed by spectral analysis of backscattered radiofrequency signals. The slope, intercept and total power parameters of the spectrum were evaluated. Discriminant analysis was used to compare the ability of the UTC spectral parameters and morphological constituents to correctly classify plaques according to their symptom group membership. UTC correctly classified 88.2% of the plaques. Thrombus was present in 93.9% of the plaques, and there was little difference in the morphological constituents of plaques from asymptomatic and symptomatic patients. Morphological constituents correctly classified 60.7% of the plaques. We conclude, in this preliminary study, that UTC can discriminate between carotid plaques from asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with moderate accuracy, despite a similarity in their morphological composition. UTC discrimination is not related to differences in the type or amount of morphological constituents in the plaques