Giant cavernous hemangioma of the eleventh rib

BACKGROUND: Cavernous hemangioma of the rib is extremely rare benign vascular tumor. It is difficult to diagnose in time because both invasive and noninvasive examinations usually fail to distinguish it from other tumors of the rib and other bones. CASE PRESENTATION: We described an asymptomatic 44-year-old woman with cavernous hemangioma of the rib that was incidentally discovered in the bathing. The tumor was completely resected by minithoracotomy through posterolateral incision. The pathological tissue was diagnosed as a cavernous hemangioma composed of thin-walled blood vessels and red blood cells. CONCLUSIONS: We reported this case of giant cavernous hemangioma of the rib for its extremely rare occurrence. The preoperative diagnosis is a challenge both clinically and radiologically, and difficult to distinguish this tumor from other tumors of the rib or long bones.