Background: Spontaneous rupture of a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an uncommon but fatal complication of this disease. Surgical treatment is aimed at controlling the intraperitoneal hemorrhage, which has been achieved by hepatectomy, hepatic arterial ligation, packing and suturing. However, hemostasis obtained by hepatic arterial ligation, packing and suturing is not particularly effective, and the rebleeding rate is high. Information on hepatectomy for ruptured HCC is sparse, and we therefore reviewed our experience with hepatic resection for this potentially fatal complication.
Method: The clinicopathological features of 23 patients with ruptured HCC who underwent hepatectomy during the past 15 years were reviewed. Morbidity, mortality and survival rates were analyzed.
Results: Effective hemo-stasis was achieved by hepatectomy. Indications for operative treatment were acute abdomen necessitating immediate laparotomy in 12, and spontaneous hemoperitoneum in 11. Types of hepatectomy included left hemihepatectomy in 3, lateral segmentectomy in 6 and local excision in 14. Liver cirrhosis was the concomitant disease in 13 (56.5%). Hospital mortality rate was 4.3%. 1, 2, 3, and 5 year survival rates were 60%, 52%, 40.5% and 26.5%, respectively.
Conclusions: Hepatic resection is the treatment of choice for ruptured HCC. Long-term survival can be observed in a few patients without recurrence.