Hepatic mesenchymal hamartoma

Hepatic mesenchymal hamartoma (HMH) is a rare liver tumour in childhood. It is believed to be a benign tumour with a good prognosis if the tumour is excised. Only a few cases with local relapse or metastasis have been reported. We reviewed 134 patients with space-occupying liver lesions, from January 1990 to December 1999, and four patients with HMH were found. Abdominal mass and/or distension were the common initial presentations. Three of our four cases were diagnosed in the first year of life. The liver function tests and tumour markers were non-specific. Case 1 underwent tumour enucleation and another three cases underwent tumour excision. One patient died. No tumour recurrence was noted in the surviving patients.