liver hemangiomas

[bCanuck]

Ok I have been feeling ill (weak and just not myself) for the past 3 months I have had an ESR rating of 48 which has now gone down to 2 and slightly high platelet level. Recently I have been having upper abdominal pain and went for an ultrasound. The ultrasound found something that the doctor says is a hemangioma. I was wondering how sure he can be with the finding through an ultrasound and also if it could be cancerous. The hemangioma is on my liver and is 2.2 cm. Another question I have is how do you treat or get rid of these hemangiomas.

By the way I am a 26 year old male who is usually healthy and athletic.

[umka123]

It is me again(husband with hemangioma). I forgot to add that blood test showed Low WBC(4.0) and low TSH thyroid test(hyperthyroidism). I don't understand, why my husband gets such prolong episodes of fever every time he starts a common cold. He did a PET scan which showed nothing exept hamangioma. He was seen by so many specialist while in the hospital, but nobody could come to a decision exept may be a thyroid as a cause.Even his insurance refused to pay for his staying in the hospital because it was  "unnecessary". So stupid. Last time he was sick for 3 weeks and he had just started a good job, and guess what? They fired him  next day he came back from the hospital.Right now he has no medical insurance and he is sick again.I am so frustrated. Could this be hemangioma or else?

[DOHER09]

I was diagnosed with a hemangioma last 8/05 which was about 16 to 17 centimeters.  I guess you would call it a giant hemangioma.  My doctor basically said we'll watch it and to avoid any trauma to my upper right side.

I returned for a cat scan in Oct 06 for a comparison of the hemangioma.  There was no change in size but it is impacting other organs like my right kidney, colon and inferior vena cava vein.  Otherwis, everything else looked normal.  He did want me to consult with a surgeon to get his ideas.  It seems that everything I'm reading on these sites encourage surgery for giant hemangiomas.  I'm having no pain but I am now in fear of any trauma that would cause it to rupture.  It seems if it ruptures you're in a very dangerous situation with internal bleeding and your bascially in big trouble but you would be at the mercy of an emergency room that is really not equipped to handle situation. *Even my doctor said that would not be a good scenario.  I did call a surgeon, Dr. Leslie Blumgart from Sloan Kettering that I will meet with.  I did send my reports to his office and he did say I would be a candidate for surgery however, he wants to read my x-rays, etc..

I've heard of RF Abilation that send electric currents to hemangioma but is dangerous if it is near other organs.  Also, embolization my doctor said would probably not be an option because mine is so big.  I am very nervous and would greatly like to hear from anyone in the same situation.  The surgery seems so major and archaic especially in today's times and I'm afraid of the risks.  I have two children that have other issues regarding connective tissue disorders and I need to be around for them & my husband.

Thanks for listening. I just came across this forum.  I'm usually on other forums for my kids problems, (ehlers Danlos Syndrome  & Pectus excavatum)

Thanks.
T.

[kizzy33]

nine months seems like a  long time to wait maybe 3-6 months . I waited six months with mine because it orginally appeared that they were hemangiomas but now after waiting  6 months and retesting  it appears that they are more than that i dont mean to scare you but we no our own bodies  and we need to listen to them .  My doctor told me to wait unless I had symptoms , i started having alot of  heartburn and I  no longer have my gallbladder but the symptoms were that of the pain  similiar to  when I was having gallbladder attacks. It sounds like you also have symptoms do you still have your gallbladder  alot of the comments I read  about these hemangiomas  alot of people have found  later on that there symptoms were gallbladder symptoms after all not from the hemangiomas. I am no  way a medical person but I say time for another opinion. Good luck I hope you start feeling better soon.As for me I had my mri  on thursday last week  I will get the results  hopefully on thursday unless they say I then need a liver biopsy we will see.

[jerri r]

I was diagnosed with 2 small (2 & 3 cm) cavernous hemanginomas in 2002.  With severe pains in lower right side went in for ct scan and they then found the 2 masses agian.  They did a die injected MRI said they are cavernous hemaninomas but are (9 cm).

My family practicioner simply called me on the phone said do nothing but wait and see there size in 9 months.  Should I be concerned?  I am having bloating, pain, naushea after eating.  All off and on!  Also I have been feeling as though my hormones are gong crazy and see my OB next week for that.  Is there a connection.  By the way I have 4 children the youngest 18 months and just had a IUD inserted?)

[kizzy33]

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers but  my last test showed now that it is not a hemangioma  which is why i am so confused becasue i was told thats what it was in january but now the cat scan  shows it is not .Now its not  just one solid mass now theres two of them .I dont understand what made them think that it was a hemangioma in january but  now  based on more test it  was concluded it is not for sure .I am scared becasue if its not a hemangioma as thought and it is not just a simple cyst  so what else is left , all the research i do  doesnt show much else left it could be other  than cancer.I was told if the mri isnt clear enough to figure out what  the two masses are then i will need a liver bipsy have you had one of those?I heard they are painful and risky but  it may finally give me an answere. I hope all goes well with you at you appointment as well.

[cnh]

Kizzy33, I read your thread and hope you are doing better.  I hope your results are good news. I think about how scared and confused I was when I heard I had a mass in my liver, then not knowing what it all meant.  That was is the first time I had ever heard the word hemangioma.  Since then I have learned a lot about them. Please keep in touch on how you are doing and what you find out.  

I go to the surgeon next week to get a consult on the best treatment options for my cavernous liver hemangioma measuring 7.5 x 6.7 x 4.7 cm. I'm going to ask the surgeon about Radiofrequency Ablation and Transcatheter Embolization and what the risks are involved with both.  Hopefully treatment can wait for while because I am not mentally ready to go through anything yet.