Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the external iliac vein: a primary vascular tumor presenting as traumatic venous obstruction.

A 32-year-old man employed as a laborer presented with the signs and symptoms of iliofemoral venous obstruction of 1 months' duration. Results of initial phlebography from the ankle to the femoral area were normal. No iliac vein anatomy was seen. This led to a group of tests directed toward neuromuscular function, which were unrewarding. On referral to our institution a noninvasive venous vascular laboratory examination was performed, which clearly indicated iliac vein obstruction/stenosis, with a normally patent distal venous system. Subsequent repeat phlebography, including direct femoral vein injection, visualized a mass lesion partially occluding the iliac vein. This lesion was treated with primary excision and segmental venous replacement with an interposition graft of autogeneous internal jugular vein. The excised lesion proved to be an epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the iliac vein.