Preoperative Arterial Embolization of a Hemophilic Pseudo Tumor before Osteosynthesis in a Patient with Hemophilia A and Pathological Femoral Fracture

After muscular or periostal bleedings hemophilic pseudo tumors can occur as a complication of inadequate replacement therapy in hemophiliacs. They are incomplete reabsorbed and encapsulated hematomas that show recurrent bleeding inside a pseudocyst together with progressive growth and that mimic malign tumors. The disease was first described by Starker in 1918 [1]; Fernandez de Valderrama [2] demonstrated the detailed pathomechanism and recognized the importance of vascularization of hemophilic pseudo tumors [3]. Due to their progredient growth and depending on their anatomical location hemophilic pseudo tumors produce clinical symptoms as a result of soft tissue destruction, bone erosion or neurovascular compression.