LIVER SCANS IN CHILDREN: ABDOMINAL MASSES SIMULATING METASTATIC DISEASE

Three cases are reported of children with abdominal masses who were thought to have liver metastases on Au198 hepatoscans, but who, after surgery, were found to have extensive compression without evidence of parenchymal invasion or metastases. The importance of appreciating that abdominal masses can produce changes that mimic metastatic disease is obvious in considering the treatment and prognosis in these cases.