Imaging findings of a case report of intravenous lipoleiomyomatosis

Abstract

Background Intravenous leiomyomatosis (IVL) is a special type of uterine leiomyoma and is rare. Intravenous lipoleiomyomatosis (LPL) is a rare subtype of IVL, distinguished by the presence of adipose tissue. Although histologically benign, this disease exhibits aggressive biological behavior such as local invasion and high recurrence rate. The disease initially presents with no obvious clinical features, and cardiac symptoms may only appear in the later stages. Diagnosis primarily relies on imaging studies, and due to its rarity and atypical clinical presentation, imaging diagnosis can be challenging, leading to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. Previously, there was no report on the imaging findings of this disease. Case Description This article reports a case of a 52-year-old patient who presented with lower abdominal discomfort due to IVL, and who underwent surgical resection and had a good recovery. Conclusions This is the first time we report the imaging features of a disease of intravenous LPL with an extension of the inferior vena cava (IVC), and its characteristic imaging features [ultrasound shows a mass with high echogenicity, computed tomography (CT) shows low-density signal similar to fat, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows high signal on T1-weighted (T1W) image and low signal on T1W with fat-suppression (T1FS)] can lead to an accurate preoperative diagnosis and guide clinical treatment.