Optimizing surgical management of symptomatic solitary hepatic cysts

Four men and six women with symptomatic solitary hepatic cysts were encountered over an 11-year period. Average age was 49 years (range, 10 months to 67 years). Most common clinical features included right upper quadrant (RUQ) pain, a palpable RUQ mass and early postprandial satiety. Liver function studies were uniformly normal. Ultrasound and computerized tomography CT were virtually diagnostic alone or in combination. Eight patients had unilocular, simple cysts and two patients had multilocular complex cysts also designated as biliary cystadenomas. Cysts recurred in four patients treated surgically by needle aspiration, incision, and internal drainage or external catheter drainage. All four patients required reoperation, which included hepatic lobectomy in three patients and extensive unroofing in one patient. No cysts have recurred in six patients treated by extensive unroofing or excision of the cyst and none has required reoperation. One patient who underwent hepatic lobectomy for cyst recurrence after an inadequate primary procedure was found to have an unsuspected carcinoma in the cyst wall. The conclusion is that extensive unroofing of unilocular solitary hepatic cysts minimizes the likelihood of cyst recurrence and obviates the need for hepatic resection. Total cyst excision is indicated for all multiloculated cysts to avoid overlooking a biliary cystadenoma or for unilocular cysts if the biopsy specimen of the cyst wall demonstrates an unsuspected neoplasm.