Lg liver cyst aspiration followup

Glad to hear Non malignant and back pain is better !! Cool, cool. On the discomfort at the injection site and slight puffiness I would contact both. But it may be that is normal for that type of procedure ? Best of luck.

Consider also ways in which the cyst was putting pressure on other organs and ribs. Some years ago when my non malignant large cyst was treated with aspiration and surgery I had been experiencing pain from pressure on my colon…. My back in that area was numb for a while after. Makes sense to follow up with your docs.

Go back to the doc who did the aspiration. May an ultrasound or CT.

Hi @meginla, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! I just gotta say, you are doing a fantabulous job managing this adventure you are on. Kudos!

You connecting with others that already are giving you good feedback. If you haven’t seen it, I did find another discussion you may want to browse through.
- Discussion: At what size do you remove a minimally complex liver hepatic cyst?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/at-what-size-do-you-remove-a-minimally-complex-liver-hepatic-cyst/
I am not familiar with liver cysts. I am, however familiar with Mayo Clinic MN and I do think you may want to consider pursuing a consultation. If not them, perhaps you are close to another academic medical center that approaches challenges like yours using an integrative perspective, one that has been tremendously valuable for me.

Here is a list of top locations you may want to consider
- Best Hospitals for Gastroenterology
https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/gastroenterology-and-gi-surgery
Use this link to pursue contacting Mayo Clinic ; http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

You mention your PCP did not think your cyst was causing your problem. Did he/she have thoughts as to what might be the cause? Have you had other testing that looks questionable, or ruled things out?

We thought it was nerve root disorder causing back pain on right side and I have 4 spinal steroid injections last year. I had PT and dry needling and chiropractor. Obviously did not help. Because my cyst was on the back side of the liver, it was pressing on my spine and nerves in the back. No one connected a liver cyst to back pain. I did the research and found a link that explained this possible connection and went back to my GI who referred me to the liver surgeon. I say all this so maybe it will help someone else. I’m having a CT scan next week to see if the cyst is refilling. Symptoms seem to indicate that. Will consult with the liver surgeon after that. Thank you for your suggestions. I will keep these in mind.

As I mentioned a few days ago I went through something similar some years ago. The aspiration of the cyst was helpful in relieving the pressure. However I needed surgery a month later to remove “de roof” the tissue where the cyst was. That was all successful and the cyst has not returned. I had various follow up scans including one perhaps a year ago.

Fortunately liver tissue readily regenerates.
The non emergency surgery required a specific type of liver specialist experienced with this. Fortunately I’m in a large metropolitan area and a surgeon was available.

Part of what is difficult in all this is that this is not all well known in the medical arena or as the surgeon said, ignored / dismissed. That would not have been a good outcome for me.

Interesting. I’m getting the same feeling about the medical profession. They really don’t know much about liver cysts. Your story is encouraging so thank you.

I would suggest you find a new GI doctor. GI doctors should be extremely familiar with the liver, as that is one of the major organs they treat. If he isn't, that is a bad sign.

@meginla it was a scary experience back then since the docs didn’t seem to know what to do. But they transferred me to a specific surgeon who knew.

You might try a Google search using these words for more info
deroof liver cyst

Glad my comments have been helpful. It’s just a really specific problem that lots of people don’t know about.

I also had a large (20+ cm) liver cyst, "removed" a year ago via laprascopic fenestration surgery (I can now breath comfortably on my back and bend down more easily!) Swelling is normal but if you have a fever/or it is red around the area it could be signs of an infection in which case antibiotics are likely to be ordered. I am surprised that the liver oncologist did not perform a fenestration, as I have read that draining the cyst does not prevent it from returning, whereas a deroofing gives better odds. Have you seen your MRI? Does it show other liver cysts that could potentially be located in the same area? I have 2 additional liver cysts >5cm and about 12 liver cysts < 5cm that I now need to "monitor" for growth. With the big one removed, I can now feel the one under my breast more, a year later.