Antenatal embolization of a large placental chorioangioma: a case report

INTRODUCTION: A chorioangioma is the most common benign tumor of the placenta. The majority of pregnancies with chorioangiomas are asymptomatic. Pregnancies with large chorioangiomas are associated with maternal and fetal complications, such as growth restriction, cardiomegaly, congestive heart failure, fetal anemia, thrombocytopenia, nonimmune hydrops and intrauterine fetal death. There are several modalities of treatment published to date with various results. Our case was the third such case report published on the successful treatment with antenatal embolization of the feeding vessel of the chorioangioma. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no published cases about antenatal treatment of placental chorioangiomas in Saudi Arabia, or any other Gulf state. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the case of a 28-year-old Arab woman diagnosed at 22 weeks of gestation with a chorioangioma. A glue material - enbucrilate (Histoacryl) - was used for embolization of the feeding vessel. Intrauterine fetal blood transfusions were performed twice, as a treatment for fetal anemia. The fetus developed heart failure at 30 weeks of gestation. A Cesarean section was performed and the outcome was a live baby with right ventricular hypertrophy. The baby was admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit and discharged at 42 days following birth in a stable condition,with follow-up with our cardiology team. CONCLUSION: In this case, we found that intrauterine embolization of the feeding vessel of a chorioangioma with Histoacryl was a valid treatment option that carried a small risk considering the good pregnancy outcome.