A Case of Intrathoracic Ectopic Liver in a Patient without Diaphragmatic Defect

Abstract

Intrathoracic ectopic liver is a rare condition (1-4). In most patients, it is found incidentally during chest radiography as a mass usually located in the right lower area of the thorax adjacent to right the diaphragm, although ectopic liver on the left side of the thoracic cavity is also reported (4). Intrathoracic ectopic liver is usually associated with congenital diaphragmatic defect, mimicking a lung mass on CT scan (5). In these patients, percutaneous transthoracic biopsy or surgery is necessary to exclude bronchogenic cancer. A finding of intrathoracic ectopic liver in the presence of an intact, normal diaphragm is an extremely rare congenital anomaly, with only 18 reports to date in the English literature (6). However, there are no radiologic reports of intrathoracic ectopic liver without diaphragmatic defect using dynamic chest CT. We described a patient with intrathoracic ectopic liver without diaphragmatic defect that appeared as a subpleural mass abutting the diaphragm with isodense enhancement to liver tissue during arterial and delayed phase images on dynamic chest CT.