[Symptomatic non-parasitic liver cysts: early and long-term results of surgical management].

BACKGROUND: Symptomatic congenital cysts of the liver, whether solitary or multiple in appearance, can be treated by a laparoscopic approach. Here we present our single centre experience encompassing a rather large cohort of patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From our prospective surgical database, introduced for quality management and surveillance, we identified 34 consecutive patients who were operated on for congenital liver cysts between 1995 and 2004. Using a questionnaire, the patients were contacted to assess actual complaints, the recurrence of operated cysts or the frequency of newly developed cysts. During follow-up two patients had died of other diseases. Of the remaining 32 patients 30 answered the questionnaire (94 %). The median postoperative follow-up was 55 months (range: 8-121). RESULTS: There were 29 women and 5 men with solitary (n = 10) or multiple (n = 20) liver cysts and polycystic liver disease (n = 4), all complained of unspecific upper abdominal pain. Due to previous operations or coexisting diseases open laparotomy was performed in 7 patients and laparoscopic unroofing was performed in 27 patients. The conversion rate to open laparotomy was 7 % (n = 2). Solitary cysts were unroofed in 25 patients and multiple cysts in 8 patients. The resected cysts had a median diameter of 10.5 cm (solitary cysts: 7-19 cm, multiple cysts: 4-23 cm). The only postoperative complications were 3 cases of bilioma (8.9 %), which required open revision in one case. There were no cysts recurrences, but persisting upper gastrointestinal pain, backache or problems arising from the scars were reported by 9 patients (30 %). CONCLUSION: In cases of symptomatic congenital liver cysts laparoscopic unroofing should be considered the treatment of choice.