liver tumor surgery - Liver & Pancreas Disorders Message Board

ealga · 02-04-2002, 10:24 AM

I am due to undergo open liver resection later this month to remove a small hepatic adenoma in quadrant 4B of my liver. The tumor cannot be removed laproscopically. It needs to come out because I want to have a baby in the near future, and the docs say pregnancy hormones can make the tumor grow in size and potentially rupture. Does anyone have any liver surgery experiences to share? I've never had any type of surgery and I''m quite nervous, espcecially since I feel completely healthy and fit. Many thanks in advance. K

minora · 02-25-2002, 01:25 PM

I am in a similar situation. I have a lesion on my liver - right now I am not sure if it is adenoma or focal nodular hyperplasia. I am still undergoing tests to distinguish which condition I have.

I also want to get pregnant very soon, so I am curious to see how things are going for you. Did your doctor say that you should not get pregnant with the condition? My doc has not given me a lot of info about pregnancy and adenoma. Did you have the surgery? How did it go?

ealga · 02-27-2002, 08:47 AM

I'm due to have an open resection on 3/11. I had 3 surgical opinions, and while they can't totally rule out FNH, they're pretty sure its an adenoma. According to my surgeon, who wrote a book on hepatic adenoma, preganacy with this condition is not advisable because 9 months of pregnancy hormones can make the tumor grow rapidly and it could potentially rupture, which would be a "catastrophe" he said. FNH has an extremely low chance of rupture and you can be pregnant with it no problem. The other scary thing about hepatic adenoma is that in 10 percent of cases, it will turn malignant at some point in a lifetime. With my luck I'd be in that 10 percent. So I'm going thru with the surgery, even though my tumor is small, only 2 cm, and I'm pretty scared. But my surgeon is excellent, I have a lot of confidence in him. He says it will be about 5 days in the hospital and 4 weeks recovery. But then its done and I can move on with my life. I wish you the best of luck and good health. Kathy

minora · 03-12-2002, 11:56 AM

Kathy - I hope the surgery went well. When you are feeling better, please let us know how things went for you!

dsware · 03-12-2002, 10:11 PM

In Sept. 2001 I began having this bad pain which began in my lower back and radiated throughout my abdomen, which sent me to the emergency room. I was given a renal and pelvic ultrasound and a CT scan. The pain lasted a week and then went away. They determined I had a large lesion on my liver. Was referred to a GI who sent me for a biopsy, MRI, & Hidas Scan. Biopsy results were negative for cancer but the MRI showed that I had 3 lesions on the right lobe of my liver---2 that are 2 cm and 1 that is 7cm. I was told that it is a hepatic adenoma and was probably the result of taking birth control pills for many many years. Which I have now stopped taking. Saw 3 surgeons and was given conflicting opinions. Just a week ago went to UCLA Liver Cancer Ctr. for a consult with a liver specialist and he feels that the tumors should be resected. Also, that my gallbladder should be removed since the Hidas Scan indicated that it is not functioning normally. I have decided to have the surgery. Unlike the other comments that I have been reading I have not been feeling good. I'm exhausted all the time (yet all my blood work comes back fine---my enzymes are not elevated and I do not have hepatitis) there are times that I'm dizzy, nauseous, feel bloated and have side pains etc. These symptoms seem to come and go, but the tiredness doesn't. I have also had a PET scan which showed no cancer, which is great. Currently, I am trying to get the ins. co. to approve the surgery at UCLA since they are an out of network provider. Once that happens I will schedule the surgery. Please let me know how your surgery went and any if there are any other comments or questions that anybody has regarding this. Or any other information that anyone might have relating to these type of tumors.

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Donna