The patient is Ms. N.T. U (65 years old, residing in Hung Yen), with a history of high blood pressure for many years and still maintaining medication according to prescription. About a year ago, during a periodic health check-up, she was found to have a liver cyst. However, because she thought this was a benign lesion, not causing pain, she did not have a re-examination and did not follow up periodically as recommended by the doctor.
In recent days, she began to experience prolonged fatigue, pale skin, accompanied by continuous subdued pain in the right hypochondrium. When the symptoms became increasingly obvious, the family took her to a medical facility for examination. Here, doctors suspected bleeding in the liver cyst and transferred the patient to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases to continue treatment.
At the Center for Medical Examination and Treatment on Demand and International, after performing in-depth tests, doctors recorded that the disease was quite complex. Blood tests showed that the white blood cell index increased slightly (11.39 G/L), suggesting an inflammatory reaction of the body. MRI results showed that the patient had many cysts in the left liver, of which the largest cyst was 89 x 67 x 63 mm in size, tense and bleeding inside appeared.
Faced with the risk that the cyst could rupture at any time, causing abdominal bleeding and threatening life, doctors consulted and decided to perform endoscopic surgery to remove the left liver to thoroughly treat the lesion.
According to CKII doctor Nguyen Thanh Son - Center for Hepatobiliary - Gastrointestinal Surgery, liver cysts are a condition of forming one or more sacs containing fluid in liver parenchyma. Most cases of liver cysts are benign, do not cause symptoms and are often detected accidentally when the patient has an ultrasound or abdominal CT scan. However, when the cyst size exceeds 60 mm, the patient may feel tension or dull pain in the right hypochondrium.
In some cases, liver cysts can bleed or rupture, causing severe abdominal pain, abdominal bleeding, and even peritonitis - dangerous complications that can be life-threatening.
Doctors said that Ms. U's case is a reminder to people diagnosed with benign tumors or cysts but are subjective and do not monitor periodically. Although most liver cysts are not dangerous, if not controlled, the cyst can grow large and cause many complications such as anemia, infection, liver abscess, cyst rupture or abdominal bleeding.
Experts recommend that people who have been diagnosed with liver cysts – especially elderly people or those with underlying diseases such as hypertension, diabetes – should have ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging periodically every 6 months or so. When abnormal signs appear such as lower rib pain, bloating, nausea or prolonged fatigue, patients need to go to specialized medical facilities for timely examination to avoid the disease progressing severely and requiring major surgery.
