What Size of Liver Cyst is Dangerous?

Liver cysts are pathological spaces covered with epithelium. These cysts may contain fluid, blood, bile, or other material. But What size of liver cyst is dangerous? Liver cysts usually originate from the hepatic cells, blood vessels providing nutrition to the hepatocytes, and bile ducts in the liver. Liver cysts are commonly asymptomatic and discovered mostly on accidental general or medical examination. The size of liver cysts varies depending on multiple aspects. What size of liver cyst is dangerous is the leading question to answer in this article. 

Liver cysts are usually prevalent among women with a higher tendency of congenital causes. Almost all liver cysts are benign and are small enough to remain asymptomatic. Besides this, few liver cysts are large enough to cause symptoms. Only 5 to 10% of people are affected by the symptoms of larger liver cysts. 

What Are the Primary Causes of Liver Cysts?

Liver cysts can occur because of multiple etiological factors. These factors may be congenital due to hereditary causes or may be acquired. Before knowing What size of liver cyst is dangerous, let’s know the primary causes of liver cyst. Some of the common causes are as follows:

Congenital Causes

Liver cysts can occur before your birth process. Mostly, benign and harmless liver cysts are congenital. Research explains that these liver cysts usually form due to a congenital disorder in the bile ducts. Bile ducts are connected to the liver to aid in the digestion process. Defected bile ducts may produce fluid-filled sacs containing bile to produce liver cysts.

Genetic Disorder

There are several genetic problems, like polycystic liver disease and polycystic kidney disease, that stimulate the production of liver cysts. These cysts have the potential to grow and multiply. Hence, the disease is named as polycystic liver disease.

Parasitic Infestation

Echinococcus tapeworm can cause liver infestation, producing multiple liver cysts. This parasite is present in sheep in different areas of the world. Humans usually get infected by this parasite due to its exposure to water or infested vegetables. It may contain feces from the infected animal to produce this parasitic infection. 

Caroli Disease

It is a rare genetic disorder that arises due to the abnormal formation of the bile ducts in the liver. It also has the potential to produce cysts in the liver.

Traumatic Liver Cysts

Trauma to the liver can also stimulate the abnormal production of cysts in the liver. 

What Are the Primary Symptoms of Liver Cysts?

Benign or small liver cysts visually don’t cause any visible symptoms. But, cysts of larger size or malignant cysts may cause clinical symptoms. In the course of learning what size of liver cyst is dangerous, we should know these primary symptoms of liver cyst. Some of the primary symptoms of liver cysts are as follows:

• Bloating or distended bellies
• Dull pain in the right upper area of the abdomen
• Nausea and vomiting
• Lack of appetite with a feeling of fullness
• Early satiety even after a very small amount of food
• Backache
• Shortness of breath or dyspnea
• Labored breathing 
• Cough
• Feeling large palpable lumps in the belly
• Jaundice due to blockage of bile ducts
• Fever with acute belly pain due to rupture of cyst. 

What Are the Types of Liver Cysts?

Hepatic or liver cysts affect only the minor population. Liver cysts are classified into different types based on several factors. Knowing this is equally important as knowing What size of liver cyst is dangerous. The classification may depend on the cause, cell type, and infectious or non-infectious. Here we’ll discuss the classification of liver cysts depending on the cause.

Simple Cysts

It is the most common and benign type of liver cyst. Simple cysts can be either congenital or acquired. These simple cysts exhibit thin and smooth walls, secreting bile-like fluid. In addition, the size of liver cysts may vary from less than 1 cm to 30cm in diameter. Most of them are usually less than 3 cm in diameter. There are also two subtypes of simple cysts. These are as follows:

• Solitary cyst – these cysts are usually non-parasitic liver cysts and exhibit no such clinical symptoms. But, these solitary cysts can complicate any infection with spontaneous bleeding, rupture, and jaundice. Rarely, it can develop into adenocarcinoma.
• Ciliated liver foregut cyst – it is extremely rare and benign having a structure similar to a bronchogenic cyst. It may contain mucous secretion of white brown color or serous fluids.

Complex Cysts

Complex cysts are rare and may raise serious concerns with increased potential of malignancy. These cysts may include inflammatory, infectious, traumatic, and cysts due to different causes. Moreover, these cysts contain solid components with several chambers, indicating serious underlying problems. There may be the following causes to induce complex cysts. 

• Cystadenoma- it is a subtype of a mucinous cystic tumor of the liver cyst. It is also known as biliary cystadenomas (BCA). Biliary cystadenomas and cystadenocarcinomas (BCAC) are usually found in less than 5% of all liver cysts. Cystadenomas are more prevalent in middle-aged women ranging between 40 to 50 years old.
• Cystadenocarcinoma: it is another subtype of a mucinous cystic neoplasm. In about 20 to 30% of the cases, cystadenoma can transform into cystadenocarcinoma. It is quite similar to biliary cystadenoma in its clinical appearance, but it has different histological features. The nodules are usually larger up to the size of 10mm in diameter.
• Primary Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the liver has a poor prognosis because of high malignancy and malignant mets in different organs. However, the exact etiology of this malignancy is unknown. Congenital liver cysts, chronic inflammation, and abnormal mutations of biliary epithelial cells are most commonly associated with primary squamous cell carcinoma.

knowing about these many types of liver cysts help you understand What size of liver cyst is dangerous in a better way.

Besides this, you should also check this detailed article on Allergic rhinitis self care.

Are Liver Cysts Dangerous?

Liver cysts are usually benign, rarely becoming precancerous. Only about 1 to 5% of the liver cysts are precancerous. Among them, only about 30% of the precancerous liver cysts have the potential to become malignant. In contrast to this, there are two common cystic diseases that require proper management. These cystic diseases include hydatid disease and polycystic liver disease. To know What size of liver cyst is dangerous, it is important to know what type of liver cysts are dangerous.

What Are the Common Diseases Associated With Liver Cysts?

Liver cysts are usually benign and don’t cause any obvious symptoms. A very small percentage of liver cysts may have the potential to become malignant with clinical symptoms. Here are the two common types of liver cysts that require proper surgical management to avoid any potential consequences.

Hydatid Disease (Echinococcal or Hydatid Cysts)

Hydatid disease is mainly because of parasites transferring to humans from dogs and sheep species. The intermediate source is water or infested vegetables to transfer the parasite from the animals to humans. This parasite produces cysts in the human liver and other parts of the body. If not managed properly, it may cause fever, jaundice, eosinophilia, and alarming levels of white blood cells. These cysts can be managed by medication to kill parasites with surgical drainage and removal of liver cysts. Once you know this, we can move forward to knowing what size of liver cyst is dangerous.

Polycystic Liver Disease

It is quite a rare genetic disorder with a very low incidence of about 1:100,000. People with polycystic liver disease may produce multiple benign or simple liver cysts. These cysts give the appearance of larger grape clusters. Only 20% of people with this disease may exhibit noticeable symptoms of swollen or distended bellies with discomfort. These symptoms are usually visible in adults. You may go for medication or surgical procedures to get proper treatment for this disease. 

What Size of Liver Cyst is Dangerous?

Cyst size varies depending on several aspects, including age. As cysts grow in size, it has a higher potential to produce specific symptoms of bloating and discomfort in the right hypochondrium. Increased size of liver cysts also increases the risk of producing symptoms. If the cyst size is smaller or less than 4 cm, there is no need to worry. But, if the cyst size is larger than 4 cm, there is a higher chance of producing symptoms. It is high time to seek medical care from your healthcare provider for appropriate treatment. This remains the gist of the topic What size of liver cyst is dangerous.

What Are the Common Complications of Larger Liver Cysts?

Now that you know what size of liver cyst is dangerous, let’s look at some of the complications. Complications because of liver cysts are quite uncommon. In rare cases, liver cysts may produce complications like liver malignancy or liver failure. The other rare complications of liver cysts include the following conditions.

• Rupture of hemorrhagic cyst releasing blood and other fluids
• Torsion or twisting of the cyst
• Biliary fistula
• Infection of the liver cysts
• Obstructive jaundice due to the obstructed bile duct causing bilirubin buildup
• Portal vein blockage due to obstruction in the main blood vessel of the liver 
• Portal vein hypertension
• Budd-Chiari syndrome – it is mainly due to the blockage of the veins that drain the liver cells. 

You should also know what a Neonatal Marfan Syndrome is.

How to Diagnose Liver Cysts?

To know the size of your liver cyst, you need to run some examinations. This will also help you to analyse What size of liver cyst is dangerous. Healthcare providers usually find liver cysts in general imaging examinations for any other conditions. There are some common imaging tests to diagnose liver cysts. 

• Ultrasound – Ultrasounds require high-frequency soundwaves to build high-quality images and videos of the examining internal organs and different other surrounding structures. It is an important investigation into what size of liver cyst is dangerous
• Computed tomography scan – CT scans throw a series of X-rays at different angulations on the human body. This process requires a connected computer to explore three-dimensional scans of your examining organs and associated bones.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – is a painless procedure that uses magnetic radiation and radio waves with a computer to produce vivid images of organs and structures. 

If your healthcare provider diagnoses any liver cyst in imaging scans, they may perform the following protocols to rule out any premalignant or malignant conditions. 

• Patient history – your physician may ask you different questions concerning your condition to collect proper medical and personal history. 
• Physical examination – your physician may conduct a detailed physical examination to check any signs and symptoms indicating any liver cyst. 
• Medical history. Your healthcare provider may question any previous chronic liver disease and your family medical history and travel history to go for any genetic causes. 
• Serodiagnostic tests – These tests are usually conducted to explore specific antibodies for any specific disease in your blood samples.
• Contrast-enhanced ultrasound – Contrast-enhanced ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves sent to your body tissues and the echoes are recorded. These echoes are then transformed into images or videos to explore any serious disease. These are some important tests that are done to assess what size of liver cyst is dangerous.

What is the Available Treatment Plan for Liver Cysts? 

Benign and simple liver cysts need not be managed. But, if your benign cyst is greater than 4 cm, it is usually suggested to get rid of it as soon as possible. Because larger cysts have the potential to convert into malignant cysts. There are several procedures, including chemotherapy or surgical procedures to remove liver cysts. After knowing what size of liver cyst is dangerous, you should also know the treatment plans. Some of the common treatment plans are as follows: 

• Chemotherapy – There are different medications available to treat parasitic infections causing liver cysts. These drugs include benzimidazoles and are used to treat hydatid cysts. If you know What size of liver cyst is dangerous, you should also know about chemotherapy as a treatment plan.
• Percutaneous aspiration – this treatment plan indicates the aspiration of the cystic fluid by placing catheters in the cyst cavity. Healthcare providers need ultrasound or CT imaging to properly visualize and insert needles or catheters into the liver cyst. In this way, they drain the cysts’ fluid and the epithelial lining heals after some time. 
• Cyst fenestration – This surgical process is recommended to treat large cysts. It works by removing the cyst’s outer epithelial wall.
• Hepatic resection – This surgical process is suggested to remove liver-affected areas by the liver cysts.
• Transarterial embolization (TACE) – Healthcare providers inject different anticancer drugs into the arteries that supply blood to your liver. After this, they will inject a drug to block the artery. The substances act as a barrier and keep the anti-cancer drug surrounding the tumor instead of moving away.
• Surgery – This procedure is to remove benign or cancerous cysts. It is important to know about it’s surgery of you know what size of liver cyst is dangerous.
• Liver transplantation – This surgical procedure helps to treat polycystic liver disease that usually doesn’t respond to chemicalsand surgeries to remove liver cysts.

Summary

Liver cysts are usually benign and asymptomatic. Smaller benign cysts are usually ignored because of no potential hazards. However, benign cysts larger than 4cm are usually excised due to malignant transformation. A very small amount of liver cysts are malignant and are associated with multiple malignant lesions. These malignant liver cysts require proper medical or surgical treatment depending on various factors. This summaries the focus of this article – What size of liver cyst is dangerous.

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