What Is a Small Hemangioma in the Liver?

Small hepatic hemangiomas are benign tumors found in your liver that consist of malformed blood vessels. As many as 5 percent of adults have small hepatic hemangiomas that cause no symptoms, according to San Diego's SHARP Healthcare.

Size

• Small hemangiomas are typically less than two inches wide.

Causes

• Though doctors do not understand fully what causes small hepatic hemangiomas, it is believed these benign tumors are congenital, meaning that you are born with them already present on your liver, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Symptoms

• Often, small hemangiomas in your liver produce no symptoms. When symptoms are present, they include upper-right abdominal pain, feeling full after eating only a small amount, lack of appetite, nausea and vomiting.

Risks

• Small hepatic hemangiomas have the potential to grow larger when women become pregnant, due to the increase in estrogen levels common during fetal development, according to the Mayo Clinic. In such cases, the hemangioma often produces symptoms and needs to be removed for the comfort of the expectant mother.

Treatment

• Most of the time, a small hepatic hemangioma requires no treatment at all. If side effects warrant treatment, possible methods include surgical removal, a surgical procedure to cut off blood supply to the tumor and, in very rare cases, liver transplants or radiation treatments.