Laparoscopic resection of a hepatocellular carcinoma arising from an ectopic liver

Ectopic livers are rarely seen intra-abdominal lesions. Ectopic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be defined as an HCC arising from hepatic parenchyma located in an extrahepatic organ or tissue. The authors report a case of a primary, well-differentiated HCC arising from ectopic liver tissue in the left subphrenic space at the upper portion of the gastrorenal ligament that was successfully treated by laparoscopic resection. A 59-year-old man was referred to our department for the management of an intra-abdominal mass, which was incidentally found in a follow-up abdominal computed tomography scan for splenic laceration. The preoperative diagnosis suggested that it was a nonspecific stomach mass of maximal diameter 4.5 cm, such as, a gastrointestinal stromal tumor, located between the diaphragm and spleen. A computed tomography scan identified no mass in the liver. Laparoscopic resection was performed, and the final pathologic result confirmed that it was a HCC. The patient's postoperative course was unremarkable. This is the first reported case of a laparoscopically treated ectopic HCC. Moreover, laparoscopic resection was found to be safe and reliable in this case.