MINIMAL INVASIVE SURGERY FOR TREATMENT OF ENLARGED SYMPTOMATIC LIVER CYSTS

Congenital solitary liver cysts are a common finding, but they are usu ally asymptomatic; however, symptoms occur in about 16% and then requi re treatment. Ideally, complete or partial resection of the cyst is th e treatment of choice but always implies invasive surgery. We report t he case of a 50-year-old woman suffering from a massively enlarged cys t in the left liver lobe. We decided to resect the extraphepatic part of the cyst by laparoscopic surgery. The patient was discharged absolu tely asymptomatic 3 days following surgery. We conclude that open rese ction of symptomatic congenital liver cysts should be replaced by lapa roscopic removal when cysts are mostly extrahepatically located. The l aparoscopic procedure combines the advantages of minimal invasive surg ery with the demand for a radical effective treatment.