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Updated: May 24, 2026

Application of the En Bloc Concept Combined with Anatomic Resection in Laparoscopic Hepatectomy
Published on: March 10, 2023
Ectopic liver masquerading as a floating intracaval mass
Michael Wyatt Morris1, Thomas S Helling, Lawrence L Creswell
1Department of Surgery, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA. mmorrisjr@umc.edu
Abstract:
Ectopic liver is defined as liver parenchyma situated outside the liver proper with no connection to native hepatic tissue. This rare developmental anomaly is most commonly described as an attachment to the gallbladder with an incidence <0.3%, but it has been reported in other locations within the abdomen and thorax.(2-4) Most cases are found incidentally in asymptomatic patients, but ectopic liver has been known to cause visceral or vascular obstruction.(4,5) Herein we present a unique case of ectopic liver attached by a thin stalk seemingly floating in the suprahepatic inferior vena cava.
