Recurrent massive haemorrhage from benign hepatic tumours secondary to oral contraceptives

Liver cell adenoma as a cause of spontaneous haemoperitoneum has been noted with increasing frequency since Baum's initial report (Baum et al., 1973). The relationship between the use of oral contraceptives and bleeding from a hepatic tumour makes awareness of this condition mandatory for the physician involved in the differential diagnosis of the acute abdomen. The report presented here is that of a woman who, while taking oral contraceptives, subsequently bled from her liver 3 years after an initial hepatic haemorrhage.