What is a hemangioma of the liver? A hemangioma in the adult liver can be thought of as a blood packet growing on the liver; it is a mass of blood vessels with arteries in it. This vascular mass is very floppy and if you cut it open, you will see that it has many fine holes on its surface and is filled with blood, just like a sponge that absorbs water, so we call it a spongy hemangioma. Hepatic hemangioma usually has no obvious symptoms, and most of them are discovered by accidental ultrasound examination. However, ultrasound is not able to make a final and definitive diagnosis of hepatic hemangioma because the limitations of ultrasound examination features are not yet good enough to distinguish the nature of a solid occupancy of the liver. It is important to further clearly distinguish whether this mass is predominantly benign vascular blood or a malignant tumor. This is the time when we have to see a general surgeon or hepatobiliary surgeon. Usually, the doctor will recommend you to have an enhanced CT or enhanced MRI of the upper abdomen. During these tests, a drug needs to be injected into the blood vessels so that the blood flow in this mass on the liver can be on display. We will be able to tell very well if this mass is a blood packet or not? What are the dangers of hemangioma of the liver? Don’t be nervous if you find hepatic hemangioma, it is now considered a benign disease and he rarely develops into a malignant tumor. Its main danger is still the secondary problems caused by growing up. There are two dangers of growing hepatic hemangioma. One danger is the rupture of hepatic hemangioma: because hepatic hemangioma is a capillary mass of arteries, once ruptured, bleeding is very rapid and can be life-threatening if massive bleeding is not treated in time. However, the chances of such rupture are very small. In the past 100 years or so, there have been no 100 cases reported in the international literature, which is less than one case a year, so there is no need to be overly concerned. However, patients with hepatic hemangioma must remember that if there are particularly abnormal symptoms, such as sudden onset of right upper abdominal pain with deficiency, profuse sweating and pallor, they must seek medical attention in a timely manner, as it is possible that the hemangioma may rupture and bleed, requiring prompt medical attention and emergency surgery. This is especially important if the hemangioma grows on the surface of the liver and protrudes and grows very rapidly. Another risk of hepatic hemangioma is that it grows very large and causes a large amount of blood pooling and destruction of blood cells. This destruction of blood cells can lead to a reduction in blood components. One of these components is called platelets, which are an important part of the body’s blood clotting process. When you are injured, it promotes the formation of blood clots in the constricted blood vessels and stops the bleeding. Therefore, in the case of a large hemangioma, the body may experience bleeding due to a decrease in platelets, such as bleeding spots and petechiae on the skin or bleeding gums when brushing your teeth, which can be treated by removing the oversized hepatic hemangioma. What are the manifestations of hemangioma of the liver? The abnormal symptoms caused by hemangiomas in the liver are not particularly typical. An increase in the size of the hemangioma can cause epigastric discomfort, abdominal pain, bloating and other manifestations of gastrointestinal irritation due to the distending and pulling effect on the liver. Excessively large hemangiomas can cause epigastric fullness and a feeling of cramping. Huge hemangiomas of the liver can compress the stomach and intestines leading to reduced eating, and a feeling of pressure in the stomach can be felt after meals. In our research we have found that about half of the symptoms that patients with hepatic hemangiomas experience are not caused by the hemangioma. For patients with hepatic hemangioma with atypical symptoms, we first need to identify if other diseases are present, such as gastritis, cholecystitis, or spasm of the intestines.