Liver Mass
Liver mass is relatively common liver disease. When the liver mass is detected, it is important to evaluate whether the mass is benign or cancerous. In the early stage, liver mass causes no signs or symptoms. It is likely to be detected coincidently during medical check-up such as liver function test, ultrasound test, or CT Scan.
Types of Liver Mass
1.Hemangiomas are the most common liver masses generally made up of vascular tissues in the liver. They are usually congenital and
can vary in size from smaller than 1 centimeter to 10-20 centimeters.
Symptoms of Liver Hemangiomas
- Rarely cause any symptoms
- The masses larger than 5-6 cm might be the cause of abdominal pain
- Hemangiomas can be associated with the use of oral contraceptives pills. If hemangiomas detected in the women using the pills, it might be necessary to consider the change of the contraception methods.
2. Hepatic adenomas
- Hepatic adenomas are benign tumors that are less common. This type of liver mass usually occurs in female rather than male. Hepatic adenomas may be single or multiple and usually cause no symptoms.
- It is necessary to monitor this type of benign tumors. According to the statistic, hepatic adenomas has high risks of rupture and bleed or undergo a malignant transformation and develop into a liver cancer.
3. Hepatic cysts
Hepatic cysts is usually a simple liver cysts, Choledochal cysts in the liver as well as parasitic cyst caused by parasites in the liver. The symptoms of hepatic cysts include abdominal pain, tightness, or palpable abdominal mass.
4. Liver Cancer
Liver Mass Diagnosis Primarily, liver mass can be diagnosed by collecting patient’s information, basic physical examination, and blood test to check liver function. Ultrasound test or CT scans shall be performed for further examination. In most cases, the physicians can differentiate the type of liver masses from the test results. However, in the case that the test gives an unclear result, biopsy procedures shall be applied to identify whether the mass is cancerous.
Treatments for Liver Mass
1. When the masses are diagnosed as benign;
- No need for treatment if the mass is diagnosed as hemangiomas or small hepatic cyst
- If the mass is diagnosed as hepatic adenoma, the best way to treat this type of liver masses is to have a removal surgical of the masses as there is a risk that adenoma can rupture and bleed or may develop into cancerous mass in the future.
- If the mass is diagnosed as hepatic cyst and causes abdominal pain or tightness. The doctor can drain the cyst to reduce its size or perform surgical removal in case of the large cysts.
Laparoscopy Surgery Center, Bangkok Hatyai HospitalAt Bangkok-Hatyai Hospital, Minimal Invasive Laparoscopic Surgery technique will be applied. Using laparoscopic surgery to remove liver masses has many benefits such as;
- Reduce post-operative pain
- Reduce scarring or fibrosis in the abdomen- Shorter period of hospitalization
- Shorter recovery period. The patient can get back to their normal life faster.