Surgical treatment of giant hemangioma of the liver.

During a 5 year period, we treated 5 patients with giant hemangioma of the liver. There were 4 women and 1 man who ranged in age from 34 to 51 years with an average age of 43.8 years. The symptoms were an abdominal mass with Kasabach-Merritt syndrome in 2 patients, an uncomfortable sensation in the upper abdomen in two patients, and pain in the right upper quadrant in one patient. All five patients underwent surgical treatment with a successful outcome. Three of the patients underwent hepatic lobectomy, one patient underwent left lateral segmentectomy with ligation of the right hepatic artery, and one patient had ligation of the left hepatic artery with radiation. In two of the patients, Kasabach-Merritt syndrome was cured promptly after hepatic lobectomy. We believe that a symptomatic giant hemangioma within one lobe should be treated by hepatectomy, but if it involves both lobes, ligation of the hepatic artery, with or without radiation, should be considered.