Torsion of a giant pedunculated liver hemangioma: Case report

Hepatic hemangioma (HH) is the most common benign neoplasm affecting the liver. Most cases are asymptomatic and incidentally found at imaging studies. Giant hepatic hemangiomas are uncommon, but pedunculated giant hemangiomas are even rarer, making their clinical and imaging diagnosis a challenge for the surgeon.

Herein; we report the case of a 26-year-old male patient, who presented to the emergency ward with acute abdominal pain associated with a palpable mass, mimicking a complicated appendicular plastron, additionaly were found it liver enzymes elevated. Then the patient was taken the operating room. An exophytic pedunculated liver tumor that projected towards the right iliac fossa was identified. It had undergone torsion on its pedicle. Transfixing hemostatic sutures were placed, proceeding with its exeresis. The patient tolerated the procedure and was discharged without complications on the third postoperative day. Pathological anatomy confirmed the diagnosis.

Giant pedunculated HH is an infrequent entity that generates mass effect on intra-abdominal organs causing pain depending on its location. In our case, HH size was 13 cm with elevated liver enzymes, only previously reported in one case of a 20-cm hemangioma. Surgery is indicated for cases of giant and symptomatic lesions.

Torsioned pedinculated giant liver hemangioma may be part of the differential diagnosis of a patient with acute appendicitis with elevated liver enzymes. The elevation of liver enzymes may be related to the size of the HH.