Removing liver hemangioma weighing more than 5kg to save female patient

Previously, on the morning of March 1, Ms. PTHT (51 years old, living in Binh Thanh) came to Gia Dinh People's Hospital for examination in a state of physical weakness, poor appetite, persistent abdominal pain, and a swollen abdomen like she was pregnant.

Cắt bỏ khối u máu gan hơn 5kg cứu nữ bệnh nhân- Ảnh 1. — The patient's liver hemangioma weighing more than 5kg, measuring 30cm x 40cm, was removed after surgery. Photo: BH

Through examination, the doctors suspected a large tumor in the abdomen and had the patient perform blood tests as well as an abdominal CT scan for evaluation. The paraclinical results showed that the patient had a large tumor in the left liver, occupying the entire abdominal cavity. He was diagnosed with a hemangioma and admitted to the Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Unit for treatment.

It is known that the patient is a housewife, has a family and children, and discovered a tumor in her abdomen when she went for a medical examination 8 years ago.

At that time, the doctors advised hospitalization for surgery to remove the tumor, but due to the family's difficult circumstances, the patient did not agree. Gradually, the tumor grew larger and larger, compressing the inferior vena cava, forming a collateral in the anterior abdominal wall.

After being admitted to the hospital, doctors at the Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Unit coordinated with the DSA Unit to come up with the best treatment plan for the patient.

The tumor is benign but has a huge size. If approached by open surgery, it will cause pain after surgery as well as loss of aesthetics for the patient. In addition, due to the tumor compressing for a long time, the patient eats poorly and is malnourished, so the abdominal wall muscles are thin and prone to abdominal wall hernia later. Finally, the doctors decided to perform laparoscopic surgery for the patient.

Cắt bỏ khối u máu gan hơn 5kg cứu nữ bệnh nhân- Ảnh 2. — Doctor examines patient before discharge. Photo: BH

Before the day of surgery, the DSA doctors supported the embolization of the blood vessels feeding the tumor, in order to reduce the size of the tumor as well as reduce the risk of bleeding during surgery. To perform laparoscopic surgery, the doctor must be very careful because the tumor occupies almost the entire abdominal cavity, compressing other organs in the abdomen.

Surgeons face many challenges when moving the liver, the possibility of rupturing the tumor causing bleeding and the risk of damaging other organs in the abdomen is always lurking.

After careful calculation, the doctors safely removed the entire liver tumor, then opened the upper abdomen (corresponding to the cesarean section incision) about 20cm to remove the entire tumor weighing more than 5kg from the abdomen. The surgery lasted about 2 hours. After the surgery, the patient's health was stable and he was discharged from the hospital.

Doctor Nguyen Ngoc Anh - Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Unit said that liver hemangioma is a benign tumor in the liver, most tumors are small in size and do not cause any symptoms, patients only need to have regular check-ups to monitor the development of the tumor.

In most cases, the tumor does not change in size or increases very little, only about 2 mm/year. Patients with liver hemangioma should not worry too much, they should maintain a healthy lifestyle and eat scientifically to keep the liver healthy.

Source