Von Meyenburg complexes in a patient with obstructive jaundice
Authors: Vipin Gupta and Govind Makharia
Published online: 18 September 2017
Biliary hamartomas were an incidental finding in a 33-year-old man who was investigated for recurrent episodes of biliary colic. A T2-weighted coronal image showed multiple small hyperintense lesions of similar size scattered in both lobes of the liver (Figure). Biliary microhamartomas (von Meyenburg complexes) are rare and usually multiple. They occur because of ductal plate malformation and are composed of dilated intralobular and interlobular bile ducts.1 They generally remain asymptomatic and do not affect liver functions, and are most commonly detected incidentally.2 Differential diagnosis of this rare clinical entity includes multiple simple liver cysts, Caroli disease and, less commonly, metastatic liver disease (with necrosis).
Competing interests
References
- Desmet VJ. Ludwig symposium on biliary disorders — part I. Pathogenesis of ductal plate abnormalities. Mayo Clin Proc 1998; 73: 80-89.
- Brancatelli G, Federle MP, Vilgrain V, et al. Fibropolycystic liver disease: CT and MR imaging findings. Radiographics 2005; 25: 659-670.
Provenance: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
