Symptomatic giant solitary bile cyst with intracystic bleeding in a 13-year-old girl: a case report and literature review

Abstract Background Simple hepatic cyst is a rare disease in childhood. They occur in the general population with a prevalence of up to 5%. The incidence and size of cysts increase dramatically in adults older than 50 years. We performed a systematic literature review of all cases of simple hepatic cysts in the pediatric population undergoing surgical treatment. We found 52 cases reported in literature with a mean age of 2.54 years, 15% were pedicled cysts and only one case reported intracystic bleeding, detected only in the anatomopathological examination. We report a case of a 13-year-old girl who was presented with a symptomatic giant solitary bile cyst, the second biggest simple hepatic cyst reported in pediatric population, the biggest pedicled cyst and the only case of intracystic bleeding detected in pre-operative image examination in this group. This case brings important considerations about this complication and its pre-operative diagnosis. Case presentation We report a case of a 13-year-old girl with a giant solitary biliary cyst in the left hepatic lobe, symptomatic and with intracystic bleeding noted on magnetic resonance imaging. Diagnosis was difficult due to nonspecific symptoms and the non-typical images of simple hepatic cyst due to intracystic bleeding. The patient underwent a laparotomy, showing a large pedicled cyst, linked to segments II and III without adherence to other organs. Complete excision of the lesion was performed because the risk of torsion. The postoperative period passed without complications. Conclusions Although intracystic bleeding is the most common complication in adults, this is not reported in the pediatric population according to our review. Knowing how to recognize intracystic bleeding is important, because this complication predisposes the cyst to rupture and changes the appearance of the lesion on imaging tests, which can be more easily confused with cystadenoma or a cystadenocarcinoma. The magnetic resonance imaging is essential in the intracystic bleeding investigation. Comparisons between ultrasound and computed tomography findings associated with anemia history can prove the probability of this complication.