Background: Management options for symptomatic nonparasitic hepatic cysts (SNHC) lack verification through comparative studies with respect to safety and long-term effectiveness.
Hypothesis: Open cystectomy is the treatment of choice for patients with SNHC.
Setting: University hospital department of surgery.
Patients: Data were retrospectively analyzed from the clinical charts of 34 patients (26 women and 8 men) undergoing surgery for SNHC from January 1, 1975, through January 1, 1999. Charts were obtained from the original hospital referral.
Main outcome measures: Morbidity rates and long-term recurrence. We considered the following variables for analysis: age, sex, hepatic cyst location, diameter of the cyst at primary surgery, symptoms, surgical procedure, postoperative morbidity and mortality, length of postoperative hospital stay, and long-term outcome.
Results: The 34 patients underwent 47 operations for SNHC (mean diameter, 15.0 cm), with a mean follow-up of 50.0 months. Ten patients underwent open and 8, laparoscopic deroofing of the cyst. Enucleation of the cyst and hepatic resections were performed as primary procedures in 4 and 2 patients, respectively, and as secondary procedures in 6 and 7 patients, respectively. Two recurrences (25%) were found after laparoscopic deroofing and 3 (30%) after open deroofing. Two (50%) and 6 (100%) recurrences were found after cystojejunostomy and needle aspiration, respectively. No symptomatic recurrences occurred after 10 cystectomies and 9 hepatectomies. One operative death (3%) occurred; however, morbidity rates were 18% (6/34) and 15% (2/13) after primary and secondary surgery, respectively.
Conclusions: These results support our policy of performing open radical procedures in the treatment of SNHC; cystectomy is performed for primary surgery and hepatic resections for recurrences and complications. Conservative procedures have shown higher rates of recurrence and the need for further surgery. Only further technological improvements will allow a systematic and safe use of laparoscopy for radical surgery for SNHC.