Liver Cysts : :

Maged Mohamed Kamal Eldeen Hassan

128SUMMARYIntra - hepatic cysts are diseases of the liver and intra hepatic biliary treeinclude entities which differ in aetiology , manifestations andmanagement.Intra hepatic cysts are either congenital or acquired. Congenital cystsinclude; parenchymal and ductal cysts . Parenchymal cysts include;solitary cysts , polycystic disease of the liver and congenital hepaticfibrosis.Ductal cysts include: solitary ductal cyst and multiple cystic dilatationsof intrahepatic bile ducts ( caroli’s syndrome) .Acquired cysts include : echinococcal cysts, neoplastic cysts ( benignand malignant) and post traumatic cysts.The great majority of patients of hepatic cysts are asymptomatic. Mostof cases are incidental finding at operation or autopsy. When symptomsoccur , they are usually related to the presence of enlarging mass in theupper abdomen , the most common presentations include; abdominalmass , hepatomegaly, abdominal pain and jaundice . Complications arerare , may account for symptoms. They include : perforation ,129haemorrhage , secondary infection , torsion of cyst on a pedicle andspontaneous rupture.Ultrasonographic and computed tomographic scanmngs are the mostaccurate procedures for diagnosing hepatic cysts. ,Other procedures may be needed to confirm the diagnosis ascholangiography and arteriography.The treatment of hepatic cysts varys according to their nature and manyother factors. The non surgical lines of therapy plays a minor role as anadjuvant lines of therapy for surgery which is the mainstem in planingof the treatment strategy . Laparoscopy is taking a promising steps inthis field , carrying the hope to decrease the dependence on opensurgery in the near future.