Treatment of symptomatic focal nodular hyperplasia with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation

The authors report a case of a 21-year-old woman taking oral contraceptives for severe dysmenorrhea who presented with a hepatic mass and worsening right upper quadrant pain. The oral contraceptives could not be discontinued because of her pelvic symptoms, necessitating treatment of the liver lesion for symptomatic relief. Computed tomography and percutaneous biopsy demonstrated the mass to be focal nodular hyperplasia. The patient opted for radiofrequency ablation rather than surgical enucleation for symptomatic relief. The ablation proved to be a safe and effective alternative to surgery to treat the benign tumor, and permitted more aggressive therapy of the dysmenorrhea.