TWO CASES OF NONPARASITIC HEPATIC CYST TREATED WITH ABSOLUTE ETHANOL INJECTION UNDER ULTRASONICALLY GUIDED PUNCTURE

Two patients with large nonparasitic cysts of the liver were treated with absolute ethanol injection under ultrasonically guided puncture. The first patient, a 63-year-old woman, was admitted to our hospital with the complaints of sense of fullness and epigastralgia. On the ultrasonogram, a cystic mass, 14×9cm in size, was seen in the left lateral segment of the liver. The second patient, a 56-year-old woman, was hospitalized with the complaints of general fatigue and anorexia. Ultrasonogram revealed a cystic mass, 12×9cm in size, in the right lobe of the liver. Neither, cyst showed malignant findings. Both patients were treated with absolute ethanol injection under ultrasonically guided puncture. After the treatment, no major complications were observed, and remarkable shrinkage of both cysts was seen on the ultrasongram. There was no recurrence over a period of two years. As this procedure was simple and harmless, this treatment for hepatic cysts may be considered as an alternative to surgery.