A rare large symptomatic simple hepatic cyst.

A fit and well 4-year-old girl presented with a 1-year history of abdominal distension, pain and vomiting with signs of non-shifting dullness on the right side of the abdomen. An abdominal CT revealed a 19 cm epigastric cyst that did not appear to connect to any solid organ and was therefore thought to represent a mesenteric cyst. However, laparotomy revealed that the cyst was arising from the liver. The cyst was resected and subsequent histology revealed a simple hepatic cyst. The patient has been well post-operation. The case represents the largest described simple hepatic cyst in the 0-16 years paediatric age group in Europe to date. We outline the epidemiology, embryology, key investigations and management options for these lesions.