Abstract:Objective:To explore the diagnosis and treatment of hepatolithiasis complicated by both liver abscess and cholangiocarcinoma.
Methods:Fourteen patients with hepatolithiass complicated by both liver abscess and cholangiocarcinoma admitted from July 2004 to September 2009 were retrospectively analyzed.
Results:The cases complicated by both liver abscess and cholangiocarcinoma accounted for 0.58% (14/2432) of the hepatolithiasis patients admitted during the same period. Five cases were diagnosed before operation (5/14, 35.7%), 7 cases were detected by intraoperative pathological examination and 2 cases were identified by the postoperative final pathological diagnosis. The tumor resection rate was 50.0% (7/14). At follow-up period, all the 5 patients who underwent tumor resection survived more than 1 year and 1 patient survived for 5 years and 3 months after operation; but 4 patients who underwent non-resective palliative surgery survived for 1 month, 6, 7 and 13 months, respectively.
Conclusions:Cholangiocarcinoma should be considered in patients who have a history of hepatolithiasis for many years and complicated by liver abscess. Early diagnosis and aggressive surgical resection are crucial for improving the outcomes in these patients.