Kasabach-Merrit syndrome and adult hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma an unusual association
Kasabach-Merrit syndrome (KMS) is very rarely observed in adults associated with visceral hemangiomas. Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) is a very rare clinical entity with an intermediate malignant potential and a mortality rate of 20-30%. We described a case of KMS associated with HEHE in a 70 year old male patient who presented coagulation abnormalities, low platelet count and high fibrin degradation products that were typical features of KMS. Histopathology of the hepatic tissue and a positive immunostaining for endothelial markers confirmed the diagnosis of an HEHE. The first description of KMS was made in children in 1940. It was described as a "consumptive coagulopathy with capillary hemangiomas". However, recent reports have shown that this condition could be associated with kaposiform hemangioendotheliomas, an aggressive form of giant hemangioma. A giant hemangioma in adults as well as an hemangioendothelioma in children could be associated KMS, but an HEHE has been rarely reported in association with this syndrome in adult patients.