Hepatic hemangioma with arterioportal shunts.

Color Doppler sonograms and angiographic findings in 23 hepatic hemangioma patients were compared to clarify how arterioportal shunts influence color Doppler findings of hepatic hemangiomas. The results of our study showed that the presence of arterioportal shunts (six cases) gave rise to large feeding arteries (five cases), multiple intratumoral flows (six cases), and reversal of portal flow within (five cases) or around (four cases) the tumor. These color Doppler findings mimicked hypervascular malignant tumors. Knowledge of such unusual color Doppler findings in hepatic hemangiomas may help in avoiding misinterpretations of color Doppler sonograms.