Two Cases of Extrahepatically Growing Hepatocellular Carcinoma which are Difficult to be Diagnosed Their Protruding Form

Kazuyoshi Ishibashi, Takemasa Midorikawa, Hiroaki Kikuchi, Kouji Maezawa, Kunitoshi Aida, Hiroshi Nemoto, Hitoshi Sakai, Yongmu Koh, Yutaka Sanada and Kaoru Kumada

Department of Surgery, Showa University Fujigaoka Hospital

Accurate preoperative imaging studies for a tumor location in the liver effect on the option in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with poor liver function. Two cases of extrahepatically growing HCC as an intrahepatically growing tumor on preoperative imagings are reported. One patient was a 77-year-old woman with a HCC in the segment 4-5 of the liver and laparotomic microwave coagulation therapy was contemplated owing to impaired hepatic function. The other was a 37-year-old man with a HCC in the segment 8. In both cases, preoperative CT scan and ultrasonography revealed intrahepatically growing tumors. On the contrary, operative findings disclosed the extrahepatically growing of the tumor and the tumor was resected safely in both cases. The evaluation of the protruding form of HCC in the preoperative imagings is important in the selection of treatment modalities in patient with impaired hepatic reserve.

Key words
extrahepatically growing hepatocellular carcinoma

Reprint requests
Kazuyoshi Ishibashi Department of Surgery, Showa University Fujigaoka Hospital 1-30 Fujigaoka, Aoba-ku, Yokohama, 227-8501 JAPAN

Accepted
December 12, 2001

To read the PDF file you will need Abobe Reader installed on your computer.