Tuberc Respir Dis.  2010 Sep;69(3):191-195.

Supradiaphragmatic Heterotopic Liver Presenting as a Pleural Mass: A Case Report

• An J
• Han J
• Lee KS
• Choi YS

Abstract

Abnormally located liver tissue has been described in the vicinity of the liver proper, near anatomical structures such as the gallbladder, the umbilical fossa, the adrenal gland, the pancreas, and the spleen. Supradiaphragmatic ectopic liver is a rare finding, but has been reported to have been found in the intrathoracic cavity and in the pericardium. In the majority of supradiaphragmatic ectopic liver cases, there was an accompanying transdiaphragmatic pedicle of the main liver body into the abdominal cavity. In a minority of supradiaphramatic ectopic liver cases, the liver was completely separated from the abdominal cavity without a connection between the thorax and the abdomen, with accompanying diaphragmatic anomalies. We describe one case of intrathoracic ectopic liver in a patient with a previous history of lower chest wall trauma, and a brief review of the English-language medical literature on this topic.

Keyword

Liver; Thorax; Diaphragm

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Abdominal Cavity
Adrenal Glands
Diaphragm
Gallbladder
Humans
Liver
Pancreas
Pericardium
Spleen
Thoracic Wall
Thorax

Figure

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  Figure 1 CT shows an oval well-enhancing mass in mediastinal pleural side at the right lower lung zone (arrows).

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  Figure 2 (A) The operative field shows a 2 cm-sized oval mass based on the right hemidiaphragm close to the mediastinum, but the mass is not attached to the lung and liver. (B) The mass have a well defined fibrous capsule (H&E stain, ×1). (C) Microscopically, the mass shows normal liver tissue consisting of polygonal hepatocytes without significant pathologic abnormality (H&E stain, ×40).

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