Embolization of liver hemangiomas

Abstract

There is debate on the technique of surgery on liver hemangiomas in terms of liver parenchymal resection and enucleation through the hemangioma capsule. There is no randomized study yet to compare both techniques. It seems to us that preoperative hepatic arterial embolization and enucleation is a reasonable combination instead of embolization plus the formal liver resection. Selective embolization does not decrease the arterial supply of the line of the formal resection and it may even relatively increase the arterial supply of the remaining liver. This hypothesis may explain the more blood loss in the cases of preoperative selective hepatic arterial embolization combined with the formal hepatic resection.