Cystic tumors of the biliary tract: a complete excision is crucial

Intrahepatic cystic tumors are rare liver tumors whose diagnosis is based on a wide range of imaging modalities. Surgical management and prognosis are not clearly defined. The medical records of patients with a diagnosis of intrahepatic cystic tumor managed in our unit were reviewed. Two patients were successfully treated by surgery. One of these two patients had to undergo a second laparotomy to obtain complete removal of the tumor. Another patient developed tumor recurrence after an incomplete incision of the cystic lesion previously performed abroad. She was referred to our unit but was deemed unresectable and therefore was referred for a liver transplantation. We report 3 cases of hepatic cystic tumors, showing some difficult issues related to the diagnosis and management of this condition and underlining the importance of performing a complete surgical excision to avoid early recurrence of the tumor.