Intra-Arterial & Percutaneous Treatment of Giant Hepatic Hemangiomas

We start this episode off by highlighting the Global Embolization Symposium and Technologies (GEST) initiative that Jafar co-founded in 2007. Over time, GEST has evolved into a highly acclaimed conference, drawing an international audience of thousands of participants for its webinars.

We then dive into cutting edge treatments of liver hemangiomas. Jafar discussed how he was introduced to a novel approach in 2014 when one of his friends, Dr. Shahram Akhlaghpoor, sent him a paper with his results from using transarterial bleomycin-lipiodol embolization (B/LE) to treat symptomatic giant hepatic hemangiomas. Another friend of Jafar’s shared an inventive approach in shifting perspectives to view hepatic hemangiomas as low-grade venous malformations and using percutaneous injections for treatment.

Then, Jafar discusses the specifics of his approach to hepatic hemangiomas and how he usually only treats hemangiomas that are large, cause pain and discomfort, or exert pressure on vital structures such as the portal vein or bile duct. Jafar notes that the patient demographic that presents with hemangiomas are typically women aged 30 to 50, and they can be self-referred or referred by hepatobiliary surgeons.

In regards to treatment, Jafar prefers either 30, 45, or 60 units of bleomycin, favoring the latter for hemangiomas exceeding 10 cm. He prefers percutaneous access if feasible, but he resorts to chemoembolization in cases when insurance coverage presents issues. Minor post-treatment symptoms post-treatment include abdominal pain and occasional nausea, with extremely rare compilations being pulmonary fibrosis or allergic reactions to the bleomycin. Jafar notes that imaging at 1, 3, and 6 months post-treatment guides assessment of treatment effectiveness of, with substantial change best evaluated at the 6-month mark.

Jafar’s treatment has garnered high patient satisfaction, with very few patients requiring return for further therapy after the 6 months. He notes that when surgeons are shown the before and after imaging of the treatment of hemangiomas, they become big advocates of these procedures.