Radiologic Reporting of Simple Hepatic Cyst Versus Biliary Cystadenoma May Lead to Unnecessary Surgery

Background and Aims Simple liver cyst (SHC) is a benign condition with no malignant potential. They are typically discovered incidentally due to the increased use of abdominal imaging, but some patients may present with abdominal pain. A radiologist’s differential diagnosis in cases of SHC will often include “rule out biliary cystadenoma.” Under these circumstances, patients and surgeons are more likely to pursue surgical options even in asymptomatic cases. The aim of this study is to conduct a retrospective analysis of presentation, radiologic reporting, management plan, and histopathology of patients referred to a tertiary hospital in order to determine the correlation between radiology and histology. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical, radiological, and histopathological data of 20 patients operated for a diagnosis of a cystic lesion in the liver. Result The CT/MRI of 6 (30%) patients was reported as a biliary cystadenoma, 13 (65%) were reported as a simple hepatic cyst and 1 patient (5%) had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with the additional diagnosis of multiple hepatic cysts. The lesion reported as HCC on the scan was separate from the cystic lesions. The modality of imaging for these cysts was evenly split, 50% of patients had a CT scan, and 50% had an MRI performed. All imaging studies were interpreted by an attending radiologist and most of them were discussed in multidisciplinary meetings. Nineteen patients (95%) had an intraoperative diagnosis of a simple liver cyst based on its visual appearance and clear fluid within the cyst. These patients underwent cyst wall fenestration and de-roofing with the cyst wall sent for histopathology. One patient (5%) with HCC underwent a non-anatomical liver resection. Histopathology was conclusive for a benign hepatic cystic lesion from the cyst wall biopsy. All 20 patients in this study underwent surgery, either due to symptoms or due to radiologic diagnosis of BCA. Four of the 20 cases (20%) were asymptomatic and out of these four cases, 3 (75%) were diagnosed as cystadenoma on the preoperative imaging studies. All 19 cases were diagnosed as a simple liver cyst on pathology. Conclusion In summary, there is a growing trend of “ruling-out the diagnosis of biliary cystadenoma” in patients who present with liver cysts. Patients are appropriately more anxious after this preoperative diagnosis and the treating surgeons have medico-legal concerns regarding conservative management in asymptomatic patients diagnosed as BCA. This single center experience draws attention to the radiology criteria utilized for diagnosing a biliary cystadenoma and suggests that it is time to revisit the imaging interpretation and differential diagnosis.

Giant simple hepatic cyst mimicking as hydatid cyst: diagnostic dilemma

Giant liver cysts are uncommon. Hepatic cysts are usually asymptomatic and are found incidentally but they can become symptomatic and cause bleeding, infection, mass effect to adjacent structures or rupture. We described two cases of symptomatic liver cysts described suspected clinically and radiologically reported as hydatid cyst but were revealed to be simple liver cysts following surgery. Two elderly men presented with an enlarging abdominal mass and abdominal pain for 1 week. Both patients on radiology had large cysts in the liver causing significant mass effect on adjacent structures and characteristics were suggestive of hydatid cyst. Diagnostic laparoscopy with drainage was done for both patients and revealed as simple hepatic cyst. Hence simple liver cyst can mimic as hydatid cyst attaining giant dimensions and should be considered as an important differential diagnosis.

Recurrent giant simple hepatic cyst: an unusual cause of dyspnoea in an elderly man

An 88-year-old man presented to the emergency department with exertional dyspnoea and orthopnoea. Clinical examination revealed mildly raised jugular venous pressure, increased respiratory rate, palpable non-tender hepatomegaly and reduced right basal breath sounds. Ultrasonography showed a large right simple hepatic cyst, multiple small left hepatic and renal cysts. A non-contrast CT scan revealed a large, right hepatic thin-walled cyst of volume 4.2 L, exhibiting few thin septae and tiny nodular mural calcifications. Pressure effects were elevated right haemidiaphragm, right atrial compression and adjacent atelectasis. He had a similar episode 2 years ago, treated by percutaneous needle aspiration. Giant simple hepatic cysts are rare and present when symptomatic due to pain, mass effect on adjacent organs, infection or rupture. These may unusually cause dyspnoea or orthopnoea by compressing cardiac chambers. Simple aspiration has a high recurrence rate. Percutaneous sclerosant injection, laparoscopic deroofing and cystectomy are better treatment modalities.

Management of spontaneous rupture of simple hepatic cyst: a rare complication.

Resumen Los quistes hepáticos simples representan una de las lesiones hepáticas más frecuentes. Por lo general son asintomáticos y se diagnostican de forma incidental en pruebas radiológicas realizadas por otros motivos. Las complicaciones de este tipo de lesiones son poco frecuentes, siendo la hemorragia intraquística y la infección las más frecuentes. Se han descrito, de forma excepcional, casos de rotura espontánea de quiste simple hepático no parasitario. Presentamos tres pacientes con rotura espontánea de quiste hepático simple no parasitario, donde la presencia o no de abdomen agudo condiciona su manejo y la decisión de actitud conservadora versus quirúrgico. No existe un tratamiento estandarizado para el manejo de esta complicación, siendo el manejo conservador una opción viable en pacientes sin datos de peritonitis en la exploración abdominal. En caso contrario, la opción de cirugía urgente se plantea ante la presencia de abdomen agudo.