Accessory hepatic lobe.

PURPOSE

The aim of the present communication was to describe an accessory hepatic lobe in two patients and to outline the significance of the timely identification of this very rare anatomic variation for the clinical practice.

METHODS

In the course of right hemihepatectomy, accessory liver lobes were detected in two patients. Their diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology and cholangiography.

RESULTS

Both accessory hepatic lobes arose from the left liver segments. The first lobe was detected in a 56-year-old male operated on for a retroperitoneal liposarcoma. It amounted to 15% of the standard liver volume and was attached to liver segments 2 and 3 by a stalk. The second accessory lobe was found out in 45-year-old female operated on for a colon cancer and synchronous liver metastases. It was less than 15 g in weight and attached to the main liver by a mesentery as its bile duct drained into an extrahepatic duct.

CONCLUSIONS

The accessory hepatic lobes require timely diagnosis. They should be kept in mind in cases with acute surgical abdomen.