Spontaneous Rupture of Hemangioma of the Liver

Abstract

Hemangiomas of the liver occur sufficiently frequently that encountering one during abdominal surgery is not unusual. While capillary hemangiomas are more common on the periphery of the body, hemangiomas of the liver are usually of the cavernous type.⁵Schumacker¹⁹reviewed the literature regarding these tumors in 1942, and other reports have occurred since, including the experience of Henson et al.¹¹at Mayo Clinic. They are usually considered to be hamartomas, though Moore¹⁶states, "A far more logical hypothesis is that hemangioma of the liver is an acquired lesion resulting from destruction and necrosis of all the liver cells in a focal region." They have been found in newborn infants and occur more frequently in women than in men, there being a 6 to 1 ratio. They cause symptoms as a result of their size or impingement on adjacent organs but do not impair liver function. The