Ciliated hepatic foregut cyst.

Abstract

A male infant was found to have a large congenital hepatic cyst, first noted in late gestation by prenatal ultrasound scan. The cyst communicated with the biliary tree and was eventually removed completely by an extended right hepatectomy. Histopathologic examination showed a thick-walled, unilocular cyst lined predominantly by ciliated, stratified squamous epithelium with an outer wall composed of smooth muscle cells and fibrous tissue. These features are diagnostic of a ciliated hepatic foregut cyst, a rare congenital malformation with histologic similarities to bronchogenic cysts. The young age of our patient, prenatal detection, large size of the cyst, and a clear communication with the biliary tree have not been previously described with ciliated hepatic foregut cysts.