Mesenchymal hamartoma of the liver in an older child: association with disseminated intravascular coagulation.

A 9-year-old black girl underwent right hepatectomy because of a large primary tumor in the right lobe of the liver. Histopathologic examination revealed the diagnosis of mesenchymal hamartoma, a rare benign tumor occurring mostly in children below the age of 2 years. Preoperatively, the patient had laboratory evidence of mild disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) but had no bleeding manifestations. In preparation for the surgery, the patient received whole blood exchange transfusion and platelet transfusion which re-resulted in marked improvement in hemostatic parameters. Despite what appeared to be adequate replacement of blood loss during the surgical procedure, the patient developed sudden cardiac arrest near the end of the procedure and died. The probable cause of death was hypovolemia. This case of mesenchymal hepatic hamartoma illustrates two unusual features: age of the patient and the association with DIC. The latter, to our knowledge, has not been reported before.