Aa
Liver Cyst
60 year old male
Just got the results from a CT abdominal scan and it says I have a 3X3 cm fluid filled cyst posterior on the right lobe of my liver. I had the scan because I have been having a sensation (I wouldn't call it a pain) on my right flank. It was more worriesome than anything else. My blood work all came back ok. My doc says "don't worry about it", Is there any thing I should be doing?
Thanks
Just got the results from a CT abdominal scan and it says I have a 3X3 cm fluid filled cyst posterior on the right lobe of my liver. I had the scan because I have been having a sensation (I wouldn't call it a pain) on my right flank. It was more worriesome than anything else. My blood work all came back ok. My doc says "don't worry about it", Is there any thing I should be doing?
Thanks
Wow,
Thank you so much for all the information-you literally are going to cause me a much better nights sleep!
Thank you so much for all the information-you literally are going to cause me a much better nights sleep!
it depends on the type of cyst. I think they sometimes remove adenomas, but not generally hemagiomas or focal nodular hyperplasia. I have focal nodular hyperplasia and my hep does yearly surveillance.
forgot to mention, the pain is not actually from the liver itself, because the liver has no nerves in it, so cysts deep in the liver won't cause pain. It's the swelling of the liver or the cyst pressing on surrounding tissues that gives the pain. Also your lower right lobe is way away from your portal vein so not to worry there.
mb
mb
I've had cysts for 20 years so know a little about this.
Most folks our age are walking around with several fluid filled cysts and don't know it.
They have even margins and tend to be circular or oval, depends on how much space they have.
They are most common on the kidneys but can crop up anyplace really.
Once they get to a certain size they are usually self limiting in size, due to the surrounding tissue pressure.
These cysts are called benign because as a rule people live to ripe old ages without any intervention being done. The exceptions are many, but usually involve the location rather than tissue being malignant or such. If a cyst is esophageal it can block the airway or interfere with swallowing. If it's in the liver's portal vein it can interfere with circulation.
I have 2 attached to my right kidney, one larger than the kidney itself.
Unless the pain becomes a real issue, which 2 urologist told me is pretty rare, nothing is usually done about these. The reason is, draining a cyst only provides very temporary relief, and excising or removing a cyst is only successful half the time.
It's hard to get all the root cells of a cyst off an organ, and the risk of damaging the organ is pretty great, at least with a kidney.
With the liver it would depend on where it was to start, then on how much the risk was to your liver. If you were in latter stages of liver disease, then the risk of internal bleeding becomes very high, this is because as the fibrosis advances the internal pressure, blood pressure, in the liver can rise of 2 or even 3 times that of the surrounding body. The body works very hard to get the blood to continue to filter through a blocked system basically, and this causes tremendous pressure.
Ergo, I would not risk my liver to a surgery to remove a cyst unless it was in a vital part of the liver, such as a portal vein, just based on what I've read mind you, and I'm not a doctor.
The pain you are feeling under you ribs may on may not be related to your cyst.
It is very common for HCV to inflame the liver, and the inflamation leads to pain.
Even if during or after treatment this inflammation goes down, as mine has, my doctor said I may always have some residual pain there. I'm assuming this is because nerve damage does not always repair completely, and chronic inflammation can cause permanent nerve damage.
On the other hand, there are other things that can also cause inflammation around the rib cage, things such as spinal cord injury, bone spurs on vertebra where the nerves leave the spine, or costochondritis (inflammation of the rib cage) brought on by lupus or a multitude of other diseases, some of which HCV people are more susceptible to having due to toll the virus takes.
Another factor in all our pain levels is pituitary dysfunction, much more common to HCV people than the general populace by the way. Pituitary deficiency leads to lack of ability to repair tissue or correct inflammations due to the lack of the secretion of Human Growth Hormone, which is the hormone signaling the body to begin its repairs to damaged tissue, primarily each night. And the list goes on.
The density is revealed best on an MRI, fluid filled cysts have a very distinctive look, primarily the centers look empty. A benign or malignant tumor will have mass all through it.
I'm very comfortable leaving things alone with the new scanning technology chiefly because reading taught me how unsuccessful cyst removals are, and the scanning is so accurate now.
Plus even the surgeons admitted often the surgeries can do more damage than the cysts ever would have, so if your doc says you are safer to leave it alone and stop worrying I'd go with that.
Plus, like I said, by 60 I've heard between 20 and 50% of us have these cysts, depending on which doc I asked.
mb
Most folks our age are walking around with several fluid filled cysts and don't know it.
They have even margins and tend to be circular or oval, depends on how much space they have.
They are most common on the kidneys but can crop up anyplace really.
Once they get to a certain size they are usually self limiting in size, due to the surrounding tissue pressure.
These cysts are called benign because as a rule people live to ripe old ages without any intervention being done. The exceptions are many, but usually involve the location rather than tissue being malignant or such. If a cyst is esophageal it can block the airway or interfere with swallowing. If it's in the liver's portal vein it can interfere with circulation.
I have 2 attached to my right kidney, one larger than the kidney itself.
Unless the pain becomes a real issue, which 2 urologist told me is pretty rare, nothing is usually done about these. The reason is, draining a cyst only provides very temporary relief, and excising or removing a cyst is only successful half the time.
It's hard to get all the root cells of a cyst off an organ, and the risk of damaging the organ is pretty great, at least with a kidney.
With the liver it would depend on where it was to start, then on how much the risk was to your liver. If you were in latter stages of liver disease, then the risk of internal bleeding becomes very high, this is because as the fibrosis advances the internal pressure, blood pressure, in the liver can rise of 2 or even 3 times that of the surrounding body. The body works very hard to get the blood to continue to filter through a blocked system basically, and this causes tremendous pressure.
Ergo, I would not risk my liver to a surgery to remove a cyst unless it was in a vital part of the liver, such as a portal vein, just based on what I've read mind you, and I'm not a doctor.
The pain you are feeling under you ribs may on may not be related to your cyst.
It is very common for HCV to inflame the liver, and the inflamation leads to pain.
Even if during or after treatment this inflammation goes down, as mine has, my doctor said I may always have some residual pain there. I'm assuming this is because nerve damage does not always repair completely, and chronic inflammation can cause permanent nerve damage.
On the other hand, there are other things that can also cause inflammation around the rib cage, things such as spinal cord injury, bone spurs on vertebra where the nerves leave the spine, or costochondritis (inflammation of the rib cage) brought on by lupus or a multitude of other diseases, some of which HCV people are more susceptible to having due to toll the virus takes.
Another factor in all our pain levels is pituitary dysfunction, much more common to HCV people than the general populace by the way. Pituitary deficiency leads to lack of ability to repair tissue or correct inflammations due to the lack of the secretion of Human Growth Hormone, which is the hormone signaling the body to begin its repairs to damaged tissue, primarily each night. And the list goes on.
The density is revealed best on an MRI, fluid filled cysts have a very distinctive look, primarily the centers look empty. A benign or malignant tumor will have mass all through it.
I'm very comfortable leaving things alone with the new scanning technology chiefly because reading taught me how unsuccessful cyst removals are, and the scanning is so accurate now.
Plus even the surgeons admitted often the surgeries can do more damage than the cysts ever would have, so if your doc says you are safer to leave it alone and stop worrying I'd go with that.
Plus, like I said, by 60 I've heard between 20 and 50% of us have these cysts, depending on which doc I asked.
mb
like the others posted they are usually benign but most docs order an MRI to confirm.
I have several and have had them for years. No big deal. Don't worry about it....
Magnum
Magnum
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Hepatitis C Community
Learn about this treatable virus.
Getting tested for this viral infection.
3 key steps to getting on treatment.
4 steps to getting on therapy.
What you need to know about Hep C drugs.
How the drugs might affect you.
These tips may up your chances of a cure.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
