Misdiagnosis of hemangioma of left triangular ligament of the liver as gastric submucosal stromal tumor: Two case reports

BACKGROUND Extragastric lesions are typically not misdiagnosed as gastric submucosal tumor (SMT). However, we encountered two rare cases where extrinsic lesions were misdiagnosed as gastric SMTs. CASE SUMMARY We describe two cases of gastric SMT-like protrusions initially misdiagnosed as gastric SMTs by the abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS). Based on the CT and EUS findings, the patients underwent gastroscopy; however, no tumor was identified after incising the gastric wall. Subsequent surgical exploration revealed no gastric lesions in both patients, but a mass was found in the left triangular ligament of the liver. The patients underwent laparoscopic tumor resection, and the postoperative diagnosis was hepatic hemangiomas. CONCLUSION During EUS procedures, scanning across different layers and at varying degrees of gastric cavity distension, coupled with meticulous image analysis, has the potential to mitigate the likelihood of such misdiagnoses.