Pleural seeding from hepatocellular carcinoma: a complication of percutaneous alcohol ablation.

The authors present a case of proved seeding of the pleural space secondary to alcohol ablation of a primary hepatocellular carcinoma. The patient underwent alcohol ablation for a 6.5-cm-diameter tumor in the right lobe of the liver; approximately 20 needle punctures were required to ensure complete or almost complete destruction of the tumor. Six months after the original ablation, a hypervascular pleural metastasis was noted adjacent to the original lesion at computed tomography. Percutaneous biopsy of the pleural lesion showed hepatocellular carcinoma.