Hepar Lobatum Carcinomatosum: A Rare Complication Discovered After an Episode of Digestive Hemorrhage

Abstract

Aims: Show the importance of imaging in the diagnosis and follow up of Hepar Lobatum Carcinomatosum (HLC) in the context of a breast neoplasia. Presentation of case: We report a case of an episode of upper GI hemorrhage, in a 54 year old female patient, with chronic abdominal pain and asthenia. The CT scan showed a dysmorphic liver, with irregular contours, multiple capsular retractions, associated with abundant ascites. Discussion and Conclusion: HLC is defined as an acquired non-cirrhotic liver deformity secondary to liver metastases during a neoplasia, most often of the breast. The clinical presentations are not very specific and often late, and represented by signs of liver failure associated or not with portal hypertension in all its manifestations. Imaging in HLC, especially CT scan, shows similarities to a cirrhotic liver with hepatic dysmorphia, caudal lobe enlargement and segment IV atrophy. The presence of capsular retraction resulting in lobulated liver contours with reduced liver volume. It is therefore important to know the existence of this extensive form of secondary liver involvement and the set of complications that can arise.