Transpalatine excision of a cavernous hemangioma of the infratemporal fossa.

Hemangiomas of the head and neck region can represent a therapeutic challenge depending on their size, location and symptoms. We report a case of a 40-year-old woman who presented with a 2-cm encapsulated cavernous hemangioma in the infratemporal fossa (ITF). Extensive workup included CT, MRI and angiography. A transoral/transpalatine approach avoiding osteotomy was used for surgical excision. After an unremarkable postoperative course the patient has remained disease-free after a 2-year follow-up period. We suggest this surgical approach as an alternative in carefully selected cases of circumscribed small, benign lesions of the ITF.