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Multicystic biliary hamartoma mimicking intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: report of a case

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Abstract

Multicystic biliary hamartoma (MCBH) is a rare cystic disease of the liver. A 69-year-old man was referred to our hospital with radiographic abnormality. Physical examination of the patient was unremarkable, and he denied any previous medical, travel, or surgical history. An abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated a 3-cm low-density lesion in segment 3 of the liver, with dilation of the intrahepatic bile duct. The peripheral site of this lesion was slightly enhanced in the arterial phase. In the portal phase, the peripheral site was enhanced more clearly and showed a honeycomb-like dilated bile duct. Ultrasonography also revealed that the lesion was an irregularly shaped mass. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), T1-weighted images revealed a low-density mass and T2-weighted images revealed a dappled-density mass with honeycomb-like dilated bile duct and dilation of major intrahepatic bile duct. The patient was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and underwent left hepatectomy. However, pathological findings revealed that the lesion was MCBH. Our case highlights the potential difficulties in differentiating between MCBH and ICC under such circumstances.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our patient who kindly gave his consent for this publication and greatly acknowledge Dr. M. Tsutsumi (Saiseikai Chuwa Hospital) and Dr. Nakanuma (Kanazawa University) for their excellent technical assistance in pathological examination.

Disclosures

Conflict of Interest: Tomoaki Yoh, Ryuji Okamura, Hiroyuki Nakayama, Xue Lin, Yuya Nakamura and Tatsushi Kato declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human/Animal Rights: All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008(5).

Informed Consent: Informed consent was obtained from the patient.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Yamatotakada Municipal Hospital, Yamatotakada, Nara, Japan

    Tomoaki Yoh, Ryuji Okamura, Hiroyuki Nakayama, Xue Lin, Yuya Nakamura & Tatsushi Kato

  2. Division of Hepato-Biliary Pancreas and Transplantation, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Tomoaki Yoh

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  1. Tomoaki Yoh
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  2. Ryuji Okamura
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  3. Hiroyuki Nakayama
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  4. Xue Lin
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  5. Yuya Nakamura
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  6. Tatsushi Kato
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Correspondence to Tomoaki Yoh.

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Yoh, T., Okamura, R., Nakayama, H. et al. Multicystic biliary hamartoma mimicking intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: report of a case. Clin J Gastroenterol 7, 418–421 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-014-0513-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12328-014-0513-3

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