Solitary liver cysts in children: not always so simple

Diagnostic challenge of large congenital liver cyst in the newborn

“…Solitary liver cysts are most often detected incidentally in adulthood. 2,3 It can be further subdivided as simple liver cyst (SLC), which contains non-bilious fluid and has no connection to the biliary tract, and SIBC or bile lake, which contain bile and have some connection to the biliary tract. 4 SLC accounted for most of the prenatally detected and postnatally diagnosed liver cysts.…”

“…5 SLC arise from maldeveloped bile ducts, typically unilocular and usually never accompanied with cysts in other organs. 2 Asymptomatic simple cysts can be monitored on periodic USG, while large SLC in the newborn may cause abdominal distention, pain, jaundice, feeding difficulties and respiratory distress. 6,7 The best treatment of symptomatic SLC is total surgical excision.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] PHA causes hyperkalemia, hyponatremia, and metabolic acidosis. Electrolyte disturbances cause variable and nonspecific clinical signs, like fever, vomiting, failure to thrive, irritability, polyuria and dehydration.…”

Two‐ and three‐dimensional prenatal sonographic diagnosis of hepatic cysts

“…7,8 When a fetal cyst is suspected, serial sonographic size trending may be useful, because large liver cysts may be associated with neonatal diaphragmatic displacement and respiratory embarrassment, as well as gastrointestinal compression and feeding difficulties. [5][6][7]9,10 In theory, large cysts could predispose to rupture or fetal abdominal dystocia in labor. However, no such occurrences have been described in vaginal deliveries of fetuses with even the largest hepatic cysts.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] We describe 2 cases of prenatally diagnosed hepatic cysts and demonstrate the diagnostic use of 3-dimensional sonography.…”