Do all hepatic cavernous hemangiomas need to be treated?

  In outpatient clinics, we often encounter patients anxiously asking, “Doctor, I have a hemangioma on my liver, does it matter and do I need an operation?” In fact, when we talk about hemangioma in liver, we mainly refer to cavernous hemangioma, which is not a real tumor, but a kind of misconfigured “tumor”, a developmental abnormality that usually stops growing in adulthood and usually does not need treatment.  In some special cases, treatment should be considered: 1) large hemangioma (usually >5cm), causing compression of the surrounding tissues or pain in the liver area (symptoms can be present when leaning against the liver edge); 2) hemangioma growing slowly and continuously; 3) hemangioma suddenly increasing in size and suspected to be malignant (rare).  There are 2 types of treatment methods, namely surgical resection and interventional treatment. Except for hemangioma suspected of malignant change which must be treated surgically, the vast majority of hepatic hemangiomas can be treated by interventional means, specifically by puncturing through the femoral artery, inserting a thin catheter into the corresponding lesion of the liver, and injecting drugs into the blood sinus of the hemangioma, after which the hemangioma will slowly shrink and fibrosis. In a few patients, because the blood supply of the hemangioma is less, further local puncture under B-ultrasound or CT guidance is required and the drug is injected directly into the tumor 1-2 times. The effect is clear and the side effects are less frequent. Cholangitis or transient liver injury may occur in a very small number of patients, but can usually be avoided with careful manipulation.