The Authors studied 30 cases of diaphragmatic traumatisms from 1972 to 2003 to stress the difficulty to achieve an early diagnosis and the need of their immediate treatment: 26 of these patients were male and 4 female (6.5:1); the pathogenesis was in 50% of cases an open trauma and in 50% a closed trauma. The mean age was 36.6 years (33.4 in the open trauma and 41.4 in the closed). The left hemi-diaphragm was affected more frequently (63%) than the right (37%). The associated lesions were mainly of the parenchymatous abdominal organs (spleen 43.3% and liver 49%), while in the thorax lung was involved in 20% of cases and heart in 3.3%. All patients underwent plastic surgical intervention of the diaphragm. In only one case, particularly severe, the operation consisted in placing a pleuric drain and death occured a few hours later. Mean mortality was 30%(33.3% in open and 26.6% in closed traumas) and mean hospital stay was 36.2 days. Accurate diagnosis in emergency is difficult because of the frequent associated lesions, typical of these patients. Despite of the optimisation of the rescue and the new imaging technologies, the gold standard for treatment is not yet reached. There is still a considerable amount of misdiagnosis, a relevant mean hospitalization, a high mortality and a very high morbidity. The best approach to thoraco-abdominal traumas is still to fear a diaphragmatic lesion up to contrary demonstration, in order to achieve precocious diagnosis and surgical treatment, to avoid complications of delayed treatment.

Of 74 patients, treated in 2000-2007 yrs in the clinic for nonparasitic hepatic cyst, in 18 hepatic polycystosis was revealed. The applied examination algorhythm was two-staged and included the clinico-laboratory investigations results analysis, as well as serological tests for echinococcus, two-dimensional ultrasonographic investigation data, CT in necessity, the cyst puncture--on the first stage and laparoscopy with histologic investigation of the cyst wall--on the second. The proposed differential diagnostic criteria application had permitted to differ the hepatic cyst of parasitic and nonparasitic origin in 98% of observations.

Results of diagnosis and treatment of 2576 patients with focal lesions of the liver are analyzed. Differential ultrasound characteristics for all studied types of liver focal lesions are worked out. The effectiveness of the ultrasound investigation amounted for echinococcosis 91-95%, non-hydatid cysts--95.5%, hepatic tumors--99%, hepatic abscesses--87% and for the hemangioma of the liver--76.3%.

Splenosis is the autotransplantation of splenic tissue, generally after traumatic splenic rupture. Usually, the peritoneal surface is affected. The viscera are rarely involved in this graft. We report a case of intrahepatic splenosis, which presented as a liver tumour on imagery in a 55-year-old man followed for lung carcinoma and chronic hepatitis C and who had undergone a splenectomy for trauma 22 years before. The different characteristics and diagnostic methods of 16 cases of hepatic splenosis are presented from the literature. These different reports emphasize the necessity of considering splenosis in the differential diagnosis of hepatic tumours.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to investigate the situations in which computed tomography (CT) combined with arterial portography and hepatic arteriography surpassed dynamic CT in the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS: Computed tomography combined with arterial portography and hepatic arteriography was performed on 137 patients with chronic hepatitis (92 men and 45 women; mean age, 66.5 years) with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as revealed or suspected by dynamic CT. We analyzed the clinical factors leading to the discovery of additional HCC lesions on CT combined with arterial portography and hepatic arteriography that were undetected by dynamic CT. RESULTS: Computed tomography combined with arterial portography and hepatic arteriography detected additional HCC lesions that had not been revealed by dynamic CT in 33 of 137 patients. Univariate analysis revealed that in the event of HCC recurrence (vs. primary), multiple HCC lesions detected by dynamic CT (vs. single) and decreased liver function (Child's classification B/C vs. A) significantly favored the additional detection of HCC lesions. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that recurrence was the strongest predicting factor for finding additional lesions on computed tomography combined with arterial portography and hepatic arteriography. CONCLUSIONS: Computed tomography combined with arterial portography and hepatic arteriography is capable of finding additional HCC lesions undetectable by dynamic CT, especially in advanced cases such as HCC recurrence, which may affect the choice of treatment.

Imaging methods in liver diseases. The author reviews the diagnostic imaging procedures applied most commonly in liver disease in this day and age- with special attention to ultrasound imaging. She describes the possibilities, performance and disadvantages of the imaging procedures. She makes a recommendation for a generally applicable optimal investigative sequence.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the relation of collateral filling to ischemic or infarcted liver following selective embolization of hepatic artery with microcoils in patients with iatrogenic hemobilia. Methods: We performed retrospective analysis of clinical outcomes and post-embolization angiograms in eight patients (mean age of 66 years) studied over the last 7 years. Hemobilia occurred after percutaneous biliary drainage (n = 5) and percutaneous hepatic biopsy (n = 3). Causes of bleeding were pseudoaneurysm (n = 6), arterial laceration (n = 1), and direct hepatic artery-to-biliary duct fistula (n = 1). We placed microcoils in the subsegmental (n = 4) or segmental branch (n = 2), or both branches (n = 2), distal and proximal to the bleeding point. Results: We obtained complete hemostasis in all patients (100%). Four patients had no hepatic infarction after embolization. Normal filling of the distal part of the embolized branch through collaterals was seen on post-embolization films. Four patients with no collateral filling experienced liver infarction in the area corresponding to embolized branch. One patient with severe portal stenosis died of hepatic failure. Conclusion: Hepatic infarction is related to lack of immediate collateral flow.