[Spontaneous hemorrhage in liver neoplasms. Experience at an institution]

Retrospective review of a single Institution experience with the management of hepatic neoplasms complicated with spontaneous bleeding.

In a 11 years period from 1980 to 1990 we reviewed the medical charts of patients treated at our Institution with the diagnosis of hepatic neoplasms complicated with sudden bleeding. We recorded demographic information, clinical manifestations, treatment and outcome. A review of the world literature was done.

We found six patients with the diagnosis of liver tumors complicated with sudden bleeding. Five patients were female with a age range from 30 to 67 years old. Four of them had an adenoma (three of them single and one multiple) and the fifth had a non-parasitic cyst. Seventy-five per cent of the patients with the diagnosis of adenoma had used in the past oral contraceptives for at least three years. The sixth patient was a male with a ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma. Three patients were admitted in shock. Successful transcatheter hepatic arterial embolization was performed in two patients; the third required operative hemostasis. Major hepatic resections were performed in three patients including a total hepatectomy and liver transplant. All patients recovered satisfactorily.

The spontaneous rupture of benign and malignant tumors of the liver is not a common phenomenon, but is a serious complication. The experience of our Institution and the reports of literature favor CT scan and arteriogram as the most effective diagnostic methods in this group of patients, but arteriogram has the advantage of its therapeutic potential. The long term prognosis of this patients depends of their pathological diagnosis.