Hepatic hemangioma
Hepatic hemangiomas are thought to be present in as many as 7% of healthy people. Hemangiomas are four to six times more common in women than in men. Female hormones may promote the formation and growth of hemangiomas. Hemangiomas, although referred to as tumors, are not malignant and do not become cancerous. Hemangiomas are not unique to the liver and can occur almost anywhere in the body.
Symptoms of a hepatic hemangioma
Hemangiomas usually are small, measuring only a quarter inch in diameter, but they can be several inches in diameter or even larger. The vast majority of hemangiomas of the liver never cause symptoms or health problems. Most hepatic hemangiomas are discovered incidentally at the time of testing for unrelated medical problems, most commonly with ultrasound imaging or CT (computerized tomography) scanning of the abdomen. Very large hemangiomas can cause symptoms, especially if they are positioned near other organs. Pain, nausea, or enlargement of the liver can occur. Rarely, larger hemangiomas can rupture, causing severe pain and bleeding into the abdomen that may be severe or even life threatening.
Renal
enal insufficiency is generally accom¬panied by impaired reproductive function, particularly among females. Women with chronic renal failure frequently suffer from decreased libido, anovulatory vaginal bleeding or amenorrhea and high prolactin levels. Fertility is usually restored in women after renal transplantation and pregnancy is not uncommon and has been observed in 12% of women of childbearing age in one series. The rate of successful pregnancies exceeds 90% after the first trimester.
Recovery of fertility is less common in women who undergo transplantation close to the end of their childbearing age. The first successful pregnancy in a kidney transplant recipient was reported in 1958; the donor was an identical twin sister. Since then, hundreds of successful pregnancies have been reported in renal transplant recipients. During the last decade, there has been a steady increase in the number of pregnancies reported among renal transplant recipients. To evaluate the prevalence and outcomes of infertility among a group of kidney transplant recipients, we conducted a cross sectional study in our center. Infertility was defined as the failure of a couple to conceive after 12 months of frequent intercourse without contraception.
Conclusion
Before any female renal transplant recipient desires to become pregnant, an obstetrician and a transplant physician should counsel her. The incidence of infertility among kidney transplant recipients is similar to the general population, but these patients are, often times, less motivated to seek treatment for this problem.
