Partial hepatectomy is curative for the localized type of Caroli's disease: a case report and review of the literature

Childhood-onset Caroli's disease as a cause of recurrent fever: A case report

Caroli's disease is a rare congenital bile duct malformation characterized by intrahepatic bile duct dilatation. This kind of situation is seldom encountered in clinical work. We report such a case who presented to our emergency department with recurrent fever as initial symptom. According to the clinical manifestation and imaging examination, a 13-year-old boy was diagnosed with suppurative cholangitis and sepsis caused by Caroli's disease. The symptoms were got relieved after antibiotic therapy upgraded from cephalosporins to carbapenems. After 5 months of follow-up, he did not have fever, abdominal pain or any other discomfort. We believe the present report is of medical significance since it serves as a reminder that Caroli's disease may have atypical presentations and be masked by non-specific clinical findings. The report hopes to enlighten our pediatric colleagues by providing more knowledge on such rare congenital disease.

Imaging of Benign Hepatic lesions

As abdominal imaging volumes have increased, the incidence of incidentally identified benign hepatic lesions has substantially increased. Familiarity with imaging appearances of benign hepatic tumors, both common and less commonly encountered, allows the radiologist to give an informed differential diagnosis. In addition to clinical history, awareness of imaging findings of benign hepatic lesions on ultrasound, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging is useful in evaluating these lesions and avoiding unnecessary diagnostic interventions or imaging surveillance.

Caroli's disease misdiagnosed as intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct

Caroli's disease is a rare autosomal-recessive disorder caused by malformation of the ductal plate during embryonic development. Although it is present at birth, Caroli's disease is typically not diagnosed until between the second and fourth decades of life, as it was in the present patient. Here we report a rare case of Caroli's disease limited to one liver segment, which was initially misdiagnosed as an intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct. The asymptomatic patient was treated with liver segmentectomy.

Current management of noninfectious hepatic cystic lesions: A review of the literature

Nonparasitic hepatic cysts consist of a heterogeneous group of disorders, which differ in etiology, prevalence, and manifestations. With improving diagnostic techniques, hepatic cysts are becoming more common. Recent advancements in minimally invasive technology created a new Era in the management of hepatic cystic disease. Herein, the most current recommendations for management of noninfectious hepatic cysts are described, thereby discussing differential diagnosis, new therapeutic modalities and outcomes.

Caroli's disease: report of surgical options and long-term outcome of patients treated in Argentina. Multicenter study

BACKGROUND

Caroli's disease (CD) management is still controversial.

AIM

The purpose of this study is to report the most frequent clinical features, treatment options, and outcome obtained after surgical management of CD.

METHODS

A voluntary survey was conducted. Demographic, clinical, surgical, and pathological variables were analyzed.

RESULTS

Six centers included 24 patients having received surgical treatment from 1991 to 2009. Seventeen (70.8%) patients were female, with average age of 48.7 years old (20-71), and 95.5% were symptomatic. There was left hemiliver involvement in 75% of the patients. Surgical procedures included nine left lateral sectionectomies, eight left hepatectomies, and four right hepatectomies for those with hemiliver disease, while for patients with bilateral disease, one right hepatectomy and two Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomies were performed. The average length of hospitalization was 7 days. For perioperative complications (25%), three patients presented minor complications (types 1-2), while major complications occurred in three patients (type 3a). No mortality was reported. After a median follow-up of 166 months, all patients are alive and free of symptoms. CD diagnosis was confirmed by histology. Congenital hepatic fibrosis was present in two patients (8.3%) and cholangiocarcinoma in one (4.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

CD in Argentina is more common in females with left hemiliver involvement. Surgical resection is the best curative option in unilateral disease, providing long-term survival free of symptoms and complications. In selected cases of bilateral disease without parenchymal involvement, hepaticojejunostomy should be proposed. However, a close follow-up is mandatory because patients might progress and a transplant should be indicated.

Caroli's disease: identification and treatment strategy

Caroli's disease is a rare congenital disease of the liver characterized by cystic dilation of the intrahepatic bile duct. Classic Caroli's disease involves malformations of the biliary tract alone, whereas Caroli's syndrome refers to the presence of associated congenital hepatic fibrosis. Caroli's disease usually presents during childhood and early adulthood. The clinical features of Caroli's disease include jaundice, right upper abdominal pain, and fever due to the associated complications of hepatolithiasis or bacterial cholangitis. Endoscopic or percutaneous cholangiography is the traditional method of diagnosis, but magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography is emerging as the diagnostic modality of choice. The treatment for Caroli's disease includes supportive care with antibiotics for cholangitis and ursodeoxycholic acid for hepatolithiasis. Surgical resection has been used successfully in patients with monolobar disease. For patients with diffuse involvement, the treatment of choice is orthotopic liver transplantation.

Clinical characteristics of Caroli’s disease

Caroli’s disease is a rare congenital condition chara-cterized by non-obstructive saccular or fusiform dilatation of larger intrahepatic bile ducts. Cholangitis, liver cirrhosis, and cholangiocarcinoma are its potential complications. The diagnosis of Caroli’s disease depends on demonstrating that the cystic lesions are in continuity with the biliary tree which can be showed by ultrasonography, computerized tomography, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography or magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography. Treatment of Caroli’s disease relies on the location of the biliary abnormalities. While localized forms confined to one lobe can be treated with surgery, liver transplantation is the only effective modality for diffuse forms. Although a rare disorder; Caroli’s disease should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of chronic cholestasis of unknown cause.

Hepatectomía parcial curativa en la enfermedad de Caroli del adulto

Caroli's disease consists of a congenital malformation of the intrahepatic bile ducts characterized by saccular, segmental, cystic dilatations giving rise to recurrent cholangitis. The inheritance pattern is unclear and the disease may be associated with other hereditary diseases such as adult polycystic kidney disease. The most effective therapeutic option in symptomatic unilobar Caroli's disease is resection of the affected lobe. In bilobar involvement, liver transplantation should be considered. Due to their rarity, we report three cases of Caroli's disease successfully resolved through lobectomy of the affected lobe: two patients with recurrent cholangitis and one patient with associated adult polycystic kidney disease.

Bile duct cyst as precursor to biliary tract cancer

BACKGROUND

Bile duct cysts (BDC) are rare, of uncertain origin, and occur most often in young females of Asian descent. Increasingly, BDCs are reported in the Western population, often with coexistent biliary tract cancer.

METHODS

The PubMed and Medline literature databases were searched for pertinent publications regarding the clinical association and molecular biological development of cancerogenesis in BDC. Reports from the last two decades were emphasized.

RESULTS

Cancer is found in 10-30% of adults with BDC. The cancer-risk is low in childhood (<1% in the first decade), and shows a clear increase with age. Cholangiocarcinoma is the most common malignancy in BDC, and represents a 20- to 30-fold risk compared to the general population. The mean age of malignancy in BDC is 32 years (about two decades earlier than in the general population). Type I and type IV cysts show a higher cancer incidence, even after cyst excision. Pathological findings strongly suggest a hyperplasia-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence in carcinogenesis of pancreatico-biliary maljunction (PBM). Reflux of pancreatic enzymes, amylase, bile stasis, and an increased intraductal concentration of bile acids contribute to proliferative activity of bile acids in BDC. While microsatellite instability, k-ras mutations, expression of COX-2 and bcl-2, and increased telomerase activity seem to occur early; involvement of cyclin D1, beta-catenin, DPC-4/Smad4 and p53 appear later in carcinogenesis.

CONCLUSION

Increased molecular knowledge substantiates the clinically related cancer-risk in BDC. Surgery remains the golden standard for treatment, relieves patients from associated complications, and interrupts the cancerous potential in BDC.