A CONTRIBUTION TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF GIANT HEPATIC HAEMANGIOMA
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Abstract
Hepatic haemangiomas are mostly discovered by chance because of their limited dimensions. Their treatment is optional and very often an observing conservative strategy is adopted whilst a danger is foreseeing from different facts. Very different is the case of giant haemangiomas discovered because their bulk and discomfort coming from the compression exerted on near structures. In this cases a surgical treatment, segmentectomy or hemiepatectomy, are the current demanding choises. But if the volume of haemangioma is too bulky and occupies most hepatic parenchyma the necessary resection may be too extended and possibly dangerous.
The two observations of the paper refer to two patients followed conservatively for over 20 years. In fact the volume of the haemangiomas in both patients was too large, the symptoms were only related to the weight of the mass and therefore a surgical solution was deferred to a possible worsening of the symptomatology.
Such worsening didn’t happen in the time for both the patients, demonstrating that the natural history of such lesion can also be very benign over many years.