Biliary obstruction due to a huge simple hepatic cyst treated with laparoscopic resection

Management of simple hepatic cyst

Simple hepatic cysts are typically saccular, thin-walled masses with fluid-filled epithelial lined cavities that arise from aberrant bile duct cells during embryonic development. With the development of diagnostic modalities such as ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, simple hepatic cysts are seen with relative frequency in daily clinical examination. US is the most useful and noninvasive tool for the diagnosis of simple hepatic cysts, and can generally differentiate simple hepatic cysts from abscesses, hemangiomas and malignancies. Cysts with irregular walls, septations, calcifications or daughter cysts on US should be evaluated with enhanced CT or MRI to differentiate simple hepatic cysts from cystic neoplasms or hydatid cysts.Growth and compression of hepatic cysts cause abdominal discomfort, pain, distension and dietary symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, a feeling of fullness and early satiety. Complications of simple hepatic cysts include infection, spontaneous hemorrhage, rupture, and external compression of biliary tree or major vessels.Asymptomatic simple hepatic cysts should be observed. Treatment for symptomatic simple hepatic cysts includes percutaneous aspiration, aspiration followed by sclerotherapy, and surgery. The American College of Gastroenterology clinical guidelines recommend laparoscopic fenestration based on its high success rate and low invasiveness. Percutaneous procedures for treatment of simple hepatic cysts are particularly effective for the immediate palliation of patient symptoms; however, they are not generally recommended because of the high rate of recurrence.Management of simple hepatic cysts requires correct differentiation from neoplasms and infections, and the selection of a reliable treatment.

Compression of cystic duct caused by focal nodular hyperplasia

A 29-year-old female presenting with symptoms of biliary colic was found to have a liver mass compressing the cystic duct. Due to the anatomical placement of the growth, the compressed duct produced symptoms mimicking acute cholecystitis. The mass was diagnosed as focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) upon biopsy. FNH is commonly found incidentally with nonhepatic clinical presentation or during an unrelated surgical procedure. The scope of this paper is to bring awareness to uncommon causes of biliary colic. To our knowledge, there has been one other paper published with FNH being the primary cause of biliary colic.

Platypnea-orthodeoxia Syndrome Induced by an Infected Giant Hepatic Cyst

An 83-year-old man was admitted with a chief complaint of exacerbation of dyspnea. His blood oxygen saturation was 90% in the recumbent position despite oxygen therapy, and it dropped to less than 80% when the patient attempted to sit upright. A computed tomography scan revealed a giant hepatic cyst compressing the right atrium and the inferior vena cava. After percutaneous drainage, the oxygen saturation improved and did not change with alteration of the patient's positions from recumbent to sitting or standing. This case report describes a patient with the platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome due to a giant hepatic cyst successfully managed by percutaneous drainage.

Spontaneous rupture of a simple hepatic cyst: report of a case

We describe the spontaneous rupture of a simple hepatic cyst. A 62-year-old woman was admitted for right upper quadrant pain of sudden onset. The patient denied a history of abdominal trauma. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed a 13-cm-diameter solitary hepatic cyst in the right lobe. Part of the cyst surface was irregular, and the internal echo was heterogeneous. Retained fluid was detected under the liver capsule. Ten days after admission, computed tomography revealed that the volume of fluid retained under the liver capsule had decreased but that the hepatic cyst had enlarged again. The patient was referred to our hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Physical examination revealed mild right upper quadrant pain, but no signs or symptoms of peritonitis or abnormalities of the chest or heart. Percutaneous puncture was performed with a needle and an 8-French pigtail catheter under ultrasonographic guidance. Brown serous fluid was aspirated. After the removal of approximately 1,000 mL of fluid, contrast medium was injected to check for communications between the cyst and the biliary tree and to document the absence of leakage into the peritoneal cavity. After complete aspiration of the cyst fluid, 200 mg of minocycline hydrochloride dissolved in 10 mL of saline was injected into the cyst, and the catheter was flushed with 10 mL of saline (total volume of saline, 20 mL). The catheter was then clamped for 30 minutes. After percutaneous aspiration, the patient's symptoms resolved. Minocycline hydrochloride was injected daily for 7 days, and the catheter was removed. There has been no evidence of recurrence after 2 years.

Surgical resection of hepatic cystic echinococcosis impaired by preoperative diagnosis

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a rare afferent infectious disease in Japan. This paper reports a case of a hepatic cyst being diagnosed after surgical resection. A 40-year-old Syrian male was admitted for evaluation of a hepatic cyst. Serum antibodies of echinococcosis were negative. Enhanced computed tomography of the abdomen revealed a large cystic lesion, 9 cm in diameter, in the left lateral sector of the liver, which had many honeycomb-like septa and calcified lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging of this lesion revealed high intensity in the T2 weighted image. We preoperatively diagnosed this lesion as cystadenocarcinoma or CE and performed a left hepatectomy. Pathological examination revealed the presence of protoscolices in the fluid of the cysts and led to a diagnosis of this lesion as CE. In conclusion, on seeing patients with huge hepatic cysts who come from an epidemic area, we should consider hepatic CE.

Surgical resection of cystic intraductal papillary adenocarcinoma of the bile duct: report of a case

We describe a cystic intraductal papillary neoplasm of bile duct (IPNB) of adenocarcinoma treated with surgical resection. An 82-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of distension of the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. On admission, a huge nontender mass was palpated in the right upper abdomen. Initial laboratory tests revealed the following serum values: aspartate aminotransferase, 123 IU/L; alanine aminotransferase, 113 IU/L; alkaline phosphatase, 376 IU/L; bilirubin, 1.6 mg/dL; alpha-fetoprotein, 7.4 ng/mL; CA19-9, 39.8 U/mL; carcinoembryonic antigen, 4.1 ng/mL; and Duke pancreatic monoclonal antigen type 2, 200 U/mL. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed an anechoic mass with an elevated papillary lesion in the right paramedian section. Computed tomography showed a low-density hepatic lesion, measuring 12 × 10 cm, with thick, irregular walls. A T2-weighted magnetic resonance scan showed mural nodules with signal intensity higher than that of the liver. The cystic lesion was suspected to be a cystic IPNB, but we could not determine whether it was a carcinoma. We performed extensive right paramedian sectionectomy and cholecystectomy. The resected multilocular tumor was filled with a yellow fluid, and the cut surface showed multiple, yellowish papillary nodules lining the cystic wall. On histologic examination, the neoplastic biliary epithelium showed papillary growth in the dilated lumen. Papillary and micropapillary lesions exhibited cellular atypia: nuclear enlargement and hyperchromasia, mutilayering, and mitosis. Ovarian-like stroma was not detected. The tumor was diagnosed as an IPNB (carcinoma in situ lesion). These lesions had expanded into several intrabiliary ducts. No recurrence has been detected 2 year after operation.