Shin SH, Koh YS, Song S. Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma managed with minimally invasive surgery: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(22): 104924 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i22.104924]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yang Seok Koh, PhD, Professor, Department of General Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Ilsim-ri, Hwasun-eup, Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do, Hwasun 519-763, South Korea. yskoh@jnu.ac.kr
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma managed with minimally invasive surgery: A case report
Sang Hoon Shin, Yang Seok Koh, Sanghwa Song
Sang Hoon Shin, Department of General Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun 519-763, South Korea
Yang Seok Koh, Department of General Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Hwasun 519-763, South Korea
Sanghwa Song, Department of General Surgery, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju 5681, South Korea
Author contributions: Koh YS performed the surgical procedure; Shin SH was the primary author responsible for the conception, design, and drafting of the case report; Song SH conducted the literature review and gathered the case-related data; All authors contributed to the critical revision of the manuscript and provided their final approval for submission.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no competing interests.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016) and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yang Seok Koh, PhD, Professor, Department of General Surgery, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Chonnam National University Medical School, Ilsim-ri, Hwasun-eup, Hwasun-gun, Jeollanam-do, Hwasun 519-763, South Korea. yskoh@jnu.ac.kr
Received: January 7, 2025 Revised: March 22, 2025 Accepted: April 14, 2025 Published online: August 6, 2025 Processing time: 127 Days and 23.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) is a rare malignant vascular liver tumor diagnosed by histopathological evaluation. Standardized treatment is challenging because of its rarity; hepatectomy is preferred for solitary lesions and multiple transplantations. There is no consensus on the optimal treatment for HEHE; however, surgical excision is often considered effective. This report presents a case of initially suspected cholangiocarcinoma or renal cell carcinoma (RCC) metastasis, which was later confirmed as HEHE, with no recurrence during follow-up.
CASE SUMMARY
A 52-year-old man with a history of left nephrectomy for RCC presented with an incidentally detected liver mass and nonspecific abdominal discomfort. Imaging revealed a 3-cm centripetal enhancing lesion in the right hepatic dome with indeterminate malignant potential. The patient underwent a laparoscopic right anterior sectionectomy and remained recurrence-free without complications during the 3-year follow-up period.
CONCLUSION
Managing HEHE is challenging. Accurate diagnosis and surgical options, such as resection or transplantation, are essential with tailored multidisciplinary follow-up. The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016) and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Core Tip: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) is a rare vascular tumor often misdiagnosed as other malignancies. This case highlights the role of surgical resection not only for definitive diagnosis but also for effective management of resectable HEHE, achieving long-term recurrence-free outcomes and ensuring safe follow-up.
