title: Treatment of hepatic cysts in the era of laparoscopic surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver cysts are not uncommon. Rarely, they become symptomatic and require intervention. Surgery is the usual form of treatment; laparoscopic cyst unroofing has recently been introduced.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current status of diagnosis and conventional therapy of hepatic cysts was summarized. The surgical literature was surveyed to collect all reported cases of minimally invasive treatment of these lesions, and the advantages and limitations of the methods were evaluated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The general application of the minimally invasive technique should await a thorough evaluation of the operative complications and the outcome in terms of cyst recurrence in larger series of patients. However, laparoscopic wide cyst unroofing and laparoscopic cyst excision will probably become the methods of choice for the treatment of symptomatic liver cysts in carefully selected patients.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Klingler
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gadenstätter
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bodner
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Schwelberger
mesh_terms: D003560:Cysts / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D013396:Suction