Resectional therapy for a giant cavernous hemangioma of the liver

Twelve patients with cavernous hemangiomas of the liver were treated by surgical resection from 1982 to 1991. There were three male and nine female patients. Their ages ranged from 31 to 62 with a mean of 49. All except one with gall bladder polyp had abdominal pain. Preoperatively, dynamic computerized tomographic scans performed on three patients produced accurate diagnoses, while angiography was correct in only 2 out of 7 patients. The indications for operation were suspected hepatoma in five, symptomatic pain in three, intraperitoneal hemorrhage resulting from biopsy in one, intrahepatic stone with suspicion of cholangioma in one, abdominal mass mimicking a gastric leiomyosarcoma in one and incidental laparotomy in a final patient. Surgical treatment resulted in no operative mortalities apart from one delayed death from cirrhotic decompensation occurring four months postoperatively. Morbidity included one patient with a postoperative hemorrhage and one with bile leakage, however, both of them were discharged uneventfully. During the follow up period from 6 to 72 months, no more abdominal pain attacked in those three patients with preoperative symptomatic pain. Three patients developed multiple recurrent hemangiomas. No identifiable causes were readily apparent. We conclude that the preoperative differentiation between hemangioma and hepatoma in a hepatic lesion is very important. When necessary, such as a giant symptomatic hemangioma of the liver can be safely resected without significant complications.