Management of haemangioma of the liver: Comparison of results between surgery and observation

Abstract

Cavernous haemangioma of the liver was diagnosed in 33 patients using hepatic angiography between 1978 and 1988. Thirteen of these patients underwent surgery. There were no deaths after operation; morbidity included upper gastrointestinal bleeding in two patients and liver dysfunction in one. The follow-up study showed no evidence of recurrence in any of the 13 patients up to 143 months after operation. In the operated patients, a small haemangioma was left in the liver of two for anatomical reasons, but the size of these tumours showed no change over 3 years. The remaining 20 patients had no specific treatment for haemangioma and were followed up for between 18 months and 8 years. Of these 20 patients, 19 had tumours of less than 5 cm in size. As there was no enlargement or rupture of haemangiomas of less than 5 cm, it was felt that these could be observed. Cases having a potential for exposure to trauma, rapid tumour growth, or displaying severe symptoms should be considered for surgical treatment; this can be justified due to low morbidity and no mortality.

Painful hepatic hemangioma: report of a case with an emphasis on sonographic findings

“…Surgical therapy is indicated only in patients with severe symptoms, complications or inconclusive diagnosis [13][14][15]. Thanks to recent advances in diagnostic imaging, nowadays there are very few cases with inconclusive diagnosis; thus, the most common indication for invasive treatment is presence of severe symptoms.…”

Hepatocellular carcinoma with concomitant hepatic angiomyolipoma and cavernous hemangioma in one patient

“…In most cases, the size of the cavernous hemangioma is stable [21] . Most hepatic cavernous hemangiomas can be diagnosed accurately from the characteristic imaging features identified on CT or MRI.…”

Hemangioma hepático gigante asociado a síndrome de Kasabach-Merrit

“…La mayoría de los pacientes permanece estable a lo largo del tiempo (4,8,9). Únicamente se aprecia un aumento de tamaño de forma ocasional, llegando a requerir resección quirúrgica (10)(11)(12).…”