Successful treatment for intra-abdominal bleeding due to spontaneous rupture of huge liver cyst using transcatheter arterial embolization: a case report

Background: Non-parasitic simple liver cysts are one of the most common benign hepatic lesions. Although most liver cysts are asymptomatic and remain silent throughout the patient’s life, extremely large cysts can become symptomatic by direct compression to adjacent organs. Herein, we report a case of a spontaneously ruptured simple liver cyst, which is a rare presentation of a benign liver cyst. The patient’s liver cyst re-ruptured and was treated with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE). Case report: A 62-year-old man presented to our hospital complaining of acute-onset lower abdominal pain. He had undergone laparoscopic fenestration of a huge liver cyst in another hospital 2 years prior. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed spontaneous rupture of a large liver cyst. Laparoscopic exploratory laparotomy showed no signs of ongoing intra-abdominal bleeding from the liver cyst; therefore, the operation was completed with peritoneal lavage. The patient was discharged from our hospital on postoperative day 5. Twelve days after the initial presentation, the patient was re-admitted to our hospital complaining of recurrence of lower abdominal pain. CT scan showed an enlargement of the previously ruptured liver cyst, with intra-abdominal bleeding and massive hematoma in the cyst. Extravasation of the cyst’s wall was also detected. Under the diagnosis of intra-abdominal bleeding from the artery in the wall of the huge cyst, emergent TAE was performed. Although the exact spot of extravasation was not detected, the anterior segment branch of the right hepatic artery, which corresponds to extravasation shown on the CT scan, was embolized. The patient was discharged from our hospital after 7 days, and the liver cyst remained stable without abdominal pain for more than 2 months. Conclusions: This case highlights a rare presentation of spontaneous rupture of a liver cyst with massive bleeding and the efficacy of TAE for the conservative treatment of ruptured liver cysts.