FOCAL NODULAR HYPERPLASIA

Course overview

IN 1958, PATHOLOGIST, HUGH EDMONDSON, MD, FIRST DESCRIBED FOCAL NODULAR HYPERPLASIA (FNH) AS A SOLID, BENIGN HEPATIC MASS OF NON-VASCULAR ORIGIN. UNLIKE THE MOST COMMON LIVER MASS WHICH IS THE HEMANGIOMA, FOCAL NODULAR HYPERPLASIA IS THOUGHT TO BE THE RESULT OF INCREASED HEPATOCYTE NUMBER CAUSED BY HYPOPERFUSION OR HYPERPERFUSION FROM ANOMALOUS ARTERIES WITHIN THE HEPATIC LOBULE. FOCAL NODULAR HYPERPLASIA OFTEN IS CONFOUNDED BY COMORBID CONDITIONS MAKING ESTABLISHING A DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT DIFFICULT. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE CAUSE, PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND PRESENTATION OF FOCAL NODULAR HYPERPLASIA AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN ITS MANAGEMENT.