Management of Symptomatic Hepatic "Mega" Hemangioma

The majority of giant hepatic cavernous hemangiomas are asymptomatic and can safely be observed. However, when a lesion becomes symptomatic, affecting quality of life or cannot be distinguished from a malignancy, then operative therapy should be considered. We herein present a case of a symptomatic 12cm × 14cm × 17cm "mega" hemangioma (>10cm) of the left hepatic lobe. This lesion was initially refractory to transarterial embolization of the left hepatic artery, but was subsequently treated successfully with a left lateral extended hepatic segmentectomy (resection). We thus advocate a rational treatment algorithm for management of hepatic "mega" hemangiomas.