A 28-year old man presented with a symptomatic giant haemangioma. On June 26, 1983, at laparotomy,no resection was attempted because the lesion involved the right lobe of the liver and a part of segmentsII and III. The patient underwent a right hepatic arterial embolisation with gelatine sponge particles.During follow-up, the patient remained asymptomatic. Five-year review by CT-scan showed a diminutionof the size of the haemangioma and hypertrophy of the left lobe. On October 21, 1988, the patientwas reoperated on for liver abscess and complete necrosis of the haemangioma. A right hepatectomywas performed. In conclusion, the long-term effect of hepatic arterial embolisation, as demonstrated inour case by regular CT-scans, is useful in cases of diffuse haemangioma as an alternative to hazardousmajor liver resection. To our knowledge, the long-term effect of hepatic arterial embolisation onsymptoms and tumor size have never been reported for giant liver haemangioma.
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