when to see a liver doc - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

lourash · 09-27-2008, 10:39 AM

I posted a few questions on the hemangioma / fnh / adenomas post. I have a hemangioma they found a few years ago on a ct scan. I had a ct for blood in my urine in August before a cystoscopy. I also had an ovarian cyst so last week they did another ct. With 3 weeks time I now have two small low density inferior spots on my liver. They were not there in August. My family doc wants to wait until spring and done another ct scan to see if they have changed. Is that most of you that have small spots were told to do or did you have to see a liver specialist?? I am sure they are nothing to worry about it just kind of grosses me out knowing they are there.

neens7982 · 09-28-2008, 10:46 AM

Lourash,

I had a what they believed to be a hemangioma and then two years later, I went in for a scan and had three spots on my liver, which included the hemangioma. The suspected hemangioma had doubled in size. My primary doc wasn't sure what was going on so he immediately sent me to a liver specialist. I flew to Dallas and saw a hepatologist and a liver surgeon. After an MRI with gadolinium and tumor markers, they determined that all three were hemangiomas. But they weren't sure why the one had grown. I was advised to go off birth control pills immediately.

I think it is important to see a liver specialist if you can. MRI's are more specific than CT's and can tell you exactly what is going on. If all of them are hemangiomas, then all you have to do is monitor them for growth. If they aren't causing pain, then the doc is most likely to have a wait and see approach. I had one of my hemangiomas grow right by my diaphragm. It grew from 2.5cm to 7cm and caused very intense shoulder pain. Then, it began to hurt to breathe. Because of its position and its growth, I had to get half of my liver (the right lobe) removed last December. I'm only 30 and I am doing extremely well. I still have the two hemangiomas remaining on my left lobe. For some reason, they never grew and have never caused any problems.

Hang in there and good luck. Let me know if you have any questions. All will be fine! There are plently of ladies on the FNH/Adenoma/Hemang. thread that have gone through all of this stuff!

neens7982 · 09-28-2008, 10:53 AM

Oh...and as far as hormones go....I was advised by my doc to not have anything with hormones....even a depo shot. I got a copper t iud..it had no hormones. Anyhow, there is no evidence to truly support that hormones make hemangiomas grow like they do the fnh and adenomas. Even upon dissection of hemangiomas, they aren't finding hormone receptors. In 2004, I went off of birth control pills. However, I had just the ONE hemangioma grow for the three years before having it out. The other two remained the same. So I think that is a very hard answer.

I was also told that when I do decided to get pregnant, they would monitor the growth of the existing hemangiomas via ultrasound. My liver surgeon told my that if it was someone in his family, he would advise her to go completely off hormones.

Lately, I've been wondering about hormones in food too. I just think it is so weird how I had one grow and the other two not....

harka · 09-29-2008, 09:10 AM

Hey neens--when looking for food associations with health stuff, only in the most crystalline situations (like celiac or lactose intolerance) will you find a direct association; otherwise, you'll be spinning your wheels and driving yourself crazy. So you had a hemangioma that grew eh? Did the liver specialist ever mention anything called an "arteriovenous malformation" or a condition known as "Osler-Weber-Rendu" syndrome (also called Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telengectasia?) .