[Surgical therapy of parenchymatous liver cysts]

An account is given of therapeutic approaches to 70 cases of non-parasitic cystic, parenchymatous liver diseases handled at the Surgical Department of Charité (Berlin), with reference being made also to indications for surgery, surgical techniques used, and therapeutic results. Twenty-six of 41 patients with solitary liver cysts, some of them with ventriculation, received surgical treatment. Extirpation of cysts and removal of cystic walls were the preferred therapeutic approaches to avoid recurrence. Postoperative complications were not recorded. Conservative therapy is preferred in the majority of cases of liver cysts, often combined with cystic alterations to kidneys and rarely associated with pancreatic lesions. The largest cysts were removed from eight of 29 patients to improve their quality of life. Subjectively perceived improvement of usually compression-related symptoms is paralleled by protracted clinical courses with temporary development of liver insufficiency. None of the patients, operated on and conservatively treated, died in the course of follow-up care.