A resected case of ruptured peritoneal metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Peritoneal metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are occasionally observed, but rupture of such metastases is rare. We report a resected case with a single ruptured peritoneal HCC metastasis. A 57-year-old man with chronic hepatitis C underwent hepatic resection twice for hepatocellular carcinoma. Recurrence in S3 was found, and the tumor was treated by radiofrequency ablation therapy (RFA). One month after RFA, plane computed tomography (CT) showed a nodule with a diameter of 5 cm near the upper pole of the spleen, and the serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level remained high. The patient was admitted to hospital, with a chief complaint of abdominal pain 4 days after the CT scan, and diagnosed with intra-abdominal hemorrhage caused by a ruptured peritoneal HCC metastatic nodule. We performed semi-urgent surgery, including splenectomy and peritoneal metastasis resection, and the patient was discharged on the 10th postoperative day. Histopathological examination of the nodule confirmed HCC metastasis. The patient is alive with no evidence of recurrence as of 1 year and 6 months after the operation, with AFP levels remaining within the normal range.