TREATMENT OF HEPATIC CYSTS IN THE ERA OF LAPAROSCOPIC SURGERY

Background Liver cysts are not uncommon. Rarely, they become symptomat ic and require intervention. Surgery is the usual form of treatment; l aparoscopic cyst unroofing has recently been introduced. Methods The c urrent status of diagnosis and conventional therapy of hepatic cysts w as summarized. The surgical literature was surveyed to collect all rep orted cases of minimally invasive treatment of these lesions, and the advantages and limitations of the methods were evaluated. Results and conclusion The general application of the minimally invasive technique should await a thorough evaluation of the operative complications and the outcome in terms of cyst recurrence in larger series of patients. However, laparoscopic wide cyst unroofing and laparoscopic cyst excis ion will probably become the methods of choice for the treatment of sy mptomatic liver cysts in carefully selected patients.