Solitary cavernous hemangioma of small intestine. Case report and literature review.

We describe a 14-year-old boy with a solitary cavernous hemangioma in the proximal small intestine that caused recalcitrant iron deficiency anemia beginning at 3 years of age. After a number of attempts to ascertain the cause of the anemia were unsuccessful, the vascular tumor was ultimately diagnosed in the jejunum, approximately 80 cm distal to the ligament of Treitz. We discuss the differential diagnoses of vasoformative intestinal lesions and review the literature on enteric cavernous hemangiomas in childhood.