Retrospective analysis based on a clinical grading system for patients with hepatic hemangioma:A single center experience

BACKGROUND The optimal approach for managing hepatic hemangioma is controversial.AIM To evaluate a clinical grading system for management of hepatic hemangioma based on our 17-year of single institution experience.METHODS A clinical grading system was retrospectively applied to 1171 patients with hepatic hemangioma from January 2002 to December 2018.Patients were classified into four groups based on the clinical grading system and treatment:(1)Observation group with score<4(Obs score<4);(2)Surgical group with score<4(Sur score<4);(3)Observation group with score≥4(Obs score≥4);and(4)Surgical group with score≥4(Sur score≥4).The clinico-pathological index and outcomes were evaluated.RESULTS There were significantly fewer symptomatic patients in surgical groups(Sur score≥4 vs Obs score≥4,P<0.001;Sur score<4 vs Obs score<4,χ^(2)=8.60,P=0.004;Sur score≥4 vs Obs score<4,P<0.001).The patients in Sur score≥4 had a lower rate of in need for intervention and total patients with adverse event than in Obs score≥4(P<0.001;P<0.001).Nevertheless,there was no significant difference in need for intervention and total patients with adverse event between the Sur score<4 and Obs score<4(P>0.05;χ^(2)=1.68,P>0.05).CONCLUSION This clinical grading system appeared as a practical tool for hepatic hemangioma.Surgery can be suggested for patients with a score≥4.For those with<4,follow-up should be proposed.

Reconsideration of the clinical management of hepatic hemangioma

In this letter,we comment on the article by Zhou et al that was published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery.This article proposes a new clinical grading system based on a multidisciplinary team,which prompts us to rethink the clinical management of hepatic hemangioma.Hepatic hemangioma is the most common benign solid liver tumor.In general,follow-up and obser-vation for the vast majority of hepatic hemangioma is reasonable.For those pa-tients with symptoms and severe complications,surgical intervention is ne-cessary.Specific surgical indications,however,are still not clear.An effective grading system is helpful in further guiding the clinical management of hepatic hemangioma.In this article,we review the recent literature,summarize the sur-gical indications and treatment of hepatic hemangioma,and evaluate the potential of this new clinical grading system.

Radiofrequency ablation for hepatic hemangiomas: A consensus from a Chinese panel of experts

Recent studies have shown that radiofrequency(RF) ablation therapy is a safe, feasible, and effective procedure for hepatic hemangiomas, even huge hepatic hemangiomas. RF ablation has the following advantages in the treatment of hepatic hemangiomas: minimal invasiveness, definite efficacy, high safety, fast recovery, relatively simple operation, and wide applicability. It is necessary to formulate a widely accepted consensus among the experts in China who have extensive expertise and experience in the treatment of hepatic hemangiomas using RF ablation, which is important to standardize the application of RF ablation for the management of hepatic hemangiomas, regarding the selection of patients with suitable indications to receive RF ablation treatment, the technical details of the techniques, therapeutic effect evaluations, management of complications, etc. A final consensus by a Chinese panel of experts who have the expertise of using RF ablation to treat hepatic hemangiomas was reached by means of literature review, comprehensive discussion, and draft approval.

Hepatic hemangioma:What internists need to know

Hepatic hemangioma(HH)is the most common benign liver tumor and it is usually found incidentally during radiological studies.This tumor arises from a vascular malformation;however,the pathophysiology has not been clearly elucidated.Symptoms usually correlate with the size and location of the tumor.Less commonly the presence of a large HH may cause life-threatening conditions.The diagnosis can be established by the identification of HH hallmarks in several imaging studies.In patients that present with abdominal symptoms other etiologies should be excluded first before attributing HH as the cause.In asymptomatic patient’s treatment is not required and follow up is usually reserved for HH of more than 5 cm.Symptomatic patients can be managed surgically or with other non-surgical modalities such as transcatheter arterial embolization or radiofrequency ablation.Enucleation surgery has shown to have fewer complications as compared to hepatectomy or other surgical techniques.Progression of the tumor is seen in less than 40%.Hormone stimulation may play a role in HH growth;however,there are no contraindications for hormonal therapy in patients with HH due to the lack of concrete evidence.When clinicians encounter this condition,they should discern between observation and surgical or non-surgical management based on the clinical presentation.

Laparoscopic hepatectomy is superior to open procedures for hepatic hemangioma

Background:Laparoscopic hepatectomy(LH)has become increasingly popular for liver neoplasms,but its safety and effectiveness remain controversial.Hepatic hemangiomas are the most common benign liver neoplasm;the main approaches to hepatic hemangiomas include open hepatectomy(OH)and LH.In this study,we compared early outcomes between patients undergoing OH and those with LH.Methods:Patients underwent OH or LH in our hospital for hepatic hemangiomas between December 2013 and December 2017 were enrolled.All patients underwent comprehensive preoperative evaluations.The clinicopathological index and risk factors of hemangioma resection were assessed.Results:In total,41 patients underwent OH while 53 underwent LH.There was no significant difference in any preoperative clinical variables,including liver function,prothrombin time,or platelet count.Hepatic portal occlusion time and operative time were 39.74 vs.38.35 minutes(P=0.717)and 197.20 vs.203.68 minutes(P=0.652)in the OH and LH groups,respectively.No mortality nor significant perioperative complications were observed between the two groups.In LH group,two cases were converted to OH,one for an oversized tumor and the other for hemorrhage.Compared with OH patients,those with LH had less blood loss(361.69 vs.437.81 m L,P=0.024),shorter postoperative hospital stay(7.98 vs.11.07 days,P=0.001),and lower postoperative C-reactive protein(43.63 vs.58.21 mg/L,P=0.026).Conclusions:LH is superior to OH in terms of postoperative recovery and blood loss for selected patients with hepatic hemangioma.

Autologous transfusion with modified total hepatic vascular exclusion for extracapsular resection of giant hepatic cavernous hemangioma

BACKGROUND: This paper was to review the effects of intraoperative autologous transfusion during modified, normal-temperature, total hepatic vascular exclusion (THVE) for extracapsular resection of giant hepatic cavernous hemangioma. METHODS: The clinical data from 28 patients, who underwent hepatic resection requiring intraoperative autologous transfusion with the cell-saver apparatus, were analyzed retrospectively. The tumors in the 28 patients involved the proximal hepatic veins and inferior vena cava. The diameters of these hemangiomas ranged from 12x15 cm to 18-40 cm. All patients had varying degrees of THVE. ' RESULTS: The 28 patients with hemangioma received integrated resection and recovered. One patient had rupture of tumors resulting in massive hemorrhage of 6000 ml during liver resection; 4 patients had blood transfusions of 400-800 ml; the other 23 patients had no blood transfusion. Only 6 patients underwent the Pringle maneuver with resection. The other 22 patients underwent THVE during the liver resection. The interval of THVE was 5-30 minutes (mean 16 minutes). CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative autologous transfusion during modified, normal-temperature THVE for extracapsular resection of huge hepatic cavernous hemangioma is feasible.

Minimally invasive treatment of hepatic hemangioma by transcatheter arterial embolization combined with microwave ablation:A case report

BACKGROUND Hepatic hemangioma is the most common benign tumor of the liver.However,patients with large hemangiomas that cause compression symptoms or that are at risk of rupture may need further intervention.It is necessary to explore additional minimally invasive and personalized treatment options for hemangiomas.CASE SUMMARY A 47-year-old woman was diagnosed with a right hepatic hemangioma for more than 10 years.Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography(CT)and contrast-enhanced ultrasound revealed that there was a large hemangioma in the right liver,with a size of approximately 95 mm×97 mm×117 mm.Due to the patient's refusal of surgical treatment,hepatic artery embolization was performed in the first stage.After 25 d of liver protection treatment,the liver function indexes decreased to normal levels.Then,ultrasound-guided microwave ablation of the giant hepatic hemangioma was performed.Ten days after the treatment,hepatobiliary ultrasonography showed that the hemangioma of the right liver was smaller than the previous size(the volume was reduced by approximately 30%).Then the patient was discharged from the hospital.One year after discharge,CT showed that the hepatic hemangioma had shrunk by about 80%CONCLUSION Transcatheter arterial embolization combined with microwave ablation is a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for hepatic hemangioma.

Interventional treatments for hepatic hemangioma:A state-of-the-art review

Hepatic hemangiomas(HHs)are the most common benign tumors of the liver.These tumors are mainly asymptomatic and do not require treatment.Nevertheless,there are some special cases that require therapeutic intervention,and surgery and intervention are currently the primary treatment modalities.Despite significant advances in the development of minimally invasive techniques and their popularization,interventional treatment of HH is still the preferred choice.In the present review,we discuss the pathological properties,type of blood supply,and treatment indications for HH and assess the status and progress of the existing interventional treatments.

Blunt abdominal injury with rupture of giant hepatic cavernous hemangioma and laceration of the spleen

A 41-year-old woman with blunt abdominal trauma due to a motor vehicle accident presented to our emergency department. The patient had a history of a giant hepatic cavernous hemangioma. Emergency exploratory laparotomy was performed for suspected intra-abdominal bleeding with abdominal compartment syndrome, and more than 4 liters of blood and blood clots were removed. An active bleeding laceration （5 cm） of a hepatic cavernous hemangioma was detected in segment III of the liver. The bleeding was controlled by sutures, Teflon patches and tamponade. The abdomen was closed temporarily using the vacuum-assisted method. Because of the presence of persistent fresh blood through abdominal drainage at a rate of 〉1 L/h, splenectomy was performed to control the bleeding again by sutures and Teflon patches. Finally, the abdomen was closed using a biologic mesh. The patient was discharged home 30 days after trauma. Bleeding of trauma-caused hepatic hemangioma is rare, but splenic injury due to blunt abdominal trauma is common. An in-depth investigation is necessary to avoid second intervention.

Role of SPECT/CT in diagnosis of hepatic hemangiomas

AIM: To investigate the role of SPECT/CT in the diagnosis of hepatic hemangiomas whose anatomical positions are not ideal, situated adjacent to the heart, the inferior cava,hepatic vessels or abdominal aorta, etc.METHODS: The hepatic perfusion, blood pool, and fusion imaging were carried out using SPECT/CT in 54 patients,who were suspected for hepatic hemangiomas. When the anatomical positions were not ideal, the diagnosis was difficult by SPECT only. So the information of computed tomography (CT) was applied to help in diagnosing. The results were recorded as hemangiomas or not.RESULTS: Of the 54 patients, 31 patients were diagnosed as suffering from hepatic hemangiomas. The anatomical positions of eight patients' hepatic hemangiomas (25.81%)were not ideal. Among these lesions of the eight patients,three patients' hepatic lesions were located near to the abdominal aorta, one to the heart, and four to the inferior cava. In addition, six abnormal radioactivity accumulation regions, adjacent to the heart and inferior cava, with the help of CT, were confirmed to be the imaging of inferior cava other than hepatic hemangiomas.CONCLUSION: When the anatomical positions of hepatic hemangiomas are not good enough for diagnosis, the fusion imaging of SPECT/CT is a simple and efficient method for differential diagnosis.

Choice between different operative techniques on cavernous hepatic hemangiomas

Objective： To investigate the optimizing of operative techniques on cavernous hepatic hemangioma by comparing the effective of the two approaches （enucleation and hepatectomy）. Methods： From May 1994 to September 2006, fortythree patients underwent the surgical removal of the cavernous hepatic hemangioma were analyzed retrospectJvely. Enucleation was used for 16 cases and hepatectomy for 27 cases. The relative clinical data and operative factors between the two operative techniques were compared. Results： Statistically significant differences in tumor size, location and intraoperative blood lose between the two groups were observed （P 〈 0.05 ）. Although enucleation was associated with less intraoperative bleeding and transfusion requirement but no significant differences in postoperative liver functional parameter, complication and length of hospital stay were observed. Conclusion： With proper choice, enucleation and hepatectomy both are effective treatments for cavernous hepatic hemangiomas.

Differentiation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma from Hepatic Hemangioma and Focal Nodular Hyperplasia using Computed Tomographic Spectral Imaging

Background and Aims:Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)is the most common primary hepatic malignancy.This study was designed to investigate the value of computed tomography(CT)spectral imaging in differentiating HCC from hepatic hemangioma(HH)and focal nodular hyperplasia(FNH).Methods:This was a retrospective study of 51 patients who underwent spectral multiple-phase CT at 40–140 keV during the arterial phase(AP)and portal venous phase(PP).Slopes of the spectral curves,iodine density,water density derived from iodine-and water-based material decomposition images,iodine uptake ratio(IUR),normalized iodine concentration,and the ratio of iodine concentration in liver lesions between AP and PP were measured or calculated.Results:As energy level decreased,the CT values of HCC(n=31),HH(n=17),and FNH(n=7)increased in both AP and PP.There were significant differences in IUR in the AP,IUR in the PP,normalized iodine concentration in the AP,slope in the AP,and slope in the PP among HCC,HH,and FNH.The CT values in AP,IUR in the AP and PP,normalized iodine concentration in the AP,slope in the AP and PP had high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating HH and HCC from FNH.Quantitative CT spectral data had higher sensitivity and specificity than conventional qualitative CT image analysis during the combined phases.Conclusions:Mean CT values at low energy(40–90 keV)and quantitative analysis of CT spectral data(IUR in the AP)could be helpful in the differentiation of HCC,HH,and FNH.

Pediatric vascular tumors of the liver:Review from the pathologist’s point of view

Differential diagnosis of pediatric vascular liver tumors can be challenging due to inconsistent nomenclature,histologic overlap and the rarity of some entities.Here we give an up-to-date overview of the most important entities.We discuss the clinic,histology and pathophysiology of hepatic congenital and infantile heman-gioma,hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma and hepatic angio-sarcoma.

Liver transplantation for benign liver tumors

Benign liver tumors are common lesions that are usually asymptomatic and are often found incidentally due to recent advances in imaging techniques and their widespread use.Although most of these tumors can be managed conservatively or treated by surgical resection,liver transplantation(LT)is the only treatment option in selected patients.LT is usually indicated in patients that present with life-threatening complications,when the lesions are diffuse in the hepatic parenchyma or when malignant transformation cannot be ruled out.However,due to the significant postoperative morbidity of the procedure,scarcity of available donor liver grafts,and the benign course of the disease,the indications for LT are still not standardized.Hepatic adenoma and adenomatosis,hepatic hemangioma,and hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma are among the most common benign liver tumors treated by LT.This article reviews the role of LT in patients with benign liver tumors.The indications for LT and long-term outcomes of LT are presented.

Infantile hepatic hemangiomas:looking backwards and forwards

Infantile hepatic hemangiomas(IHHs)are common benign tumors seen in the liver of infants.IHHs are true infantile hemangiomas(IHs)and have phases of proliferation and involution parallel to those of cutaneous IHs.The definition and classification of IHH are still confusing in the literature.The mechanisms during the pathogenesis of IHH have yet to be discovered.The clinical manifestations of IHH are heterogeneous.Although most IHH lesions are asymptomatic,some lesions can lead to severe complications,such as hypothyroidism,consumptive coagulopathy,and high-output congestive cardiac failure.Consequently,some patients can possibly encounter a fatal clinical condition.The heterogeneity of the lesions and the occurrence of disease-related comorbidities can make the treatment of IHH challenging.Oral propranolol is emerging as an effective systemic approach to IHH with obvious responses in tumor remission and symptom regression.However,the precise clinical characteristics and treatment strategies for patients with severe IHH have not yet beenwell established.Here,we summarize the epidemiology,pathogenicmechanism,clinical manifestations,diagnosis,and treatment of IHH.Recent updates and future perspectives for IHH will also be elaborated.

Imaging findings of multiple infantile hepatic hemangioma associated with cardiac insufficiency

Background:Infantile hepatic hemangioma(IHH)as a benign liver tumor in infancy and childhood is commonly associated with high output cardiac failure.The present study aims to describe the imaging findings in a patient who was diagnosed as having multiple IHH with congestive cardiac insuffi ciency.Methods:The imaging findings and clinical manifestations of the patient with multiple IHH associated with cardiac insuffi ciency were retrospectively reviewed.Results:Ultrasonography showed multiple intrahepatic lesions with mixed echoes and markedly expanded hepatic veins and the inferior vena cava of the patient.Echocardiography revealed right heart insufficiency and pulmonary hypertension.Contrast-enhanced MRI showed early mild enhancement of lesions and more obvious delayed enhancement.The patient died after combined therapy of surgery and hormone.Conclusions:The imaging findings of multiple IHH associated with cardiac insufficiency are typical and diagnostic.Early imaging assessment may facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.