Toshiko HIRAI¹, Hajime OHISHI¹, Miyoko TANAKA², Shinji HIROHASHI², Hitoshi YOSHIMURA¹, Hideo UCHIDA², Soichiro KITAMURA³

¹Department of Oncoradiology, Nara Medical University, ²Department of Radiology, Nara Medical University , ³The Third Department of Surgery, Nara Medical University

キーワード : Intravenous leiomyomatosis, Ultrasonography, Color Doppler flow imaging

Intravenous leiomyomatosis is a rare neoplastic disease that is characterized by a benign intravenous smooth muscle tumor. A 54-year-old woman was found to have intravenous leiomyomatosis with an extension into the inferior vena cava and right atrium. In this report, we describe the B-mode US, pulse Doppler, and color Doppler flow imaging of a case and compare the histological findings with US findings. On US, an echogenic mass with linear high echoes extending from the right internal iliac vein to the right atrium was demonstrated through the IVC. The echogenicity shows different patterns at different portions of the tumor. These findings reflected the varied histological findings of IVLM. On color Doppler flow imaging, eccentric color flow signals were detected in the IVC, where continuous waves were shown by US pulse Doppler method and several dot-like color-flow signals were depicted in the center of the IVC, where a pulsatile wave was shown. US is the modality of choice for not only the preoperative diagnosis of IVLM, but also for following the postoperative course.