What should I do if blood vessels grow on the liver?

Hemangioma is a relatively common tumor in life. Most of them are benign. If the hemangioma does not affect the appearance or does not cause any adverse effects on the body, you generally do not need to worry too much. Hemangioma can grow in any part of the body. Hemangioma can also grow on the liver. There are many methods for treating hemangioma. It is best to go to the hospital for examination and treatment if you have a hemangioma on the liver.

Does hepatic hemangioma require treatment?

Most hepatic hemangiomas have no symptoms and do not show significant increase in size after long-term observation. They generally do not affect liver function, and will not become cancerous or cause complications. Therefore, hepatic hemangiomas generally do not require treatment.

For giant hemangiomas with obvious symptoms, such as compression of the stomach, intestines and other adjacent organs, causing upper abdominal discomfort, bloating, belching, abdominal pain, decreased appetite, and nausea, and if it is clinically confirmed that these symptoms are caused by the hemangioma, surgical treatment may be considered.

B-ultrasound imaging shows a typical echo-enhanced area with clear edges, and the duct can be seen entering. Large hemangiomas may show a reticular pattern of uneven echoes and sometimes calcification. CT, MRI, radionuclide blood pool scanning and other examinations can assist in diagnosis. A tumor rarely ruptures spontaneously. If it is too large, it may compress surrounding organs, such as the gallbladder, pancreas, and stomach, and cause certain symptoms, such as a feeling of fullness in the upper abdomen. If it is larger than 6 cm and shows signs of accelerating growth, it should be surgically removed to prevent rupture and heavy bleeding. Patients who cannot undergo resection due to extensive lesions or multiple tumors can undergo hepatic artery ligation or embolization. In some patients, when the diagnosis of hemangioma cannot be confirmed and other malignant tumors cannot be ruled out, surgical resection is required.

What is hepatic hemangioma?

Hepatic hemangioma is a benign tumor of the liver, most commonly a cavernous hemangioma. Pathologically, the tumor is soft in texture, has a honey-like cross-section, is filled with blood, is compressible, and is shaped like a sponge, so it is also called "cavernous hemangioma." Cavernous hemangiomas can occur at any age, but symptoms usually occur in adults, mostly women. The disease develops slowly, the course of the disease can be from several years to several decades, and the tumors vary in size. The main clinical manifestations are liver enlargement, masses and compression symptoms due to tumor growth, and there are usually no symptoms in the early stages. Because this disease has no obvious symptoms and only manifests as space-occupying lesions in the liver, it is important to carefully differentiate it from liver cancer clinically. Compared with primary liver cancer, patients with hepatic hemangioma generally have a longer course of disease, good general condition, and most liver functions are within the normal range. They rarely have a history of liver disease and cirrhosis, and their serum alpha-fetoprotein is negative.

The diagnosis is mainly based on B-ultrasound, CT, radionuclide scanning and hepatic artery angiography. Smaller hemangiomas without symptoms do not require treatment and can be observed dynamically. Those with compression symptoms can choose partial liver resection. Hemangiomas are usually solitary and less than 4 cm in diameter. Hepatic hemangioma is often discovered accidentally during B-ultrasound examination. Its size, shape and number are not certain and it is often congenital. If the disease does not progress and there are no subjective symptoms, it is generally not life-threatening. About 40% of those with a diameter larger than 4 cm are accompanied by abdominal discomfort, including symptoms such as liver enlargement, loss of appetite, and indigestion. Hepatic hemangiomas often contain organized thrombi, which can cause tumor swelling and cause traction and pain in the liver capsule.