Hepatomegalia

Hepatomegalia is called the increase in a liver caused by any disease influencing functions of this body. Normal the liver has a soft consistence. Its bottom edge is located under the right costal arch. At damages of a liver in it decomposition products begin to collect, there is fabric hypostasis. As a result of this process the liver begins to increase, and it can easily be probed through a front abdominal wall at a palpation.

At catarrhal diseases increase in a liver is quite often observed. In this case the hepatomegalia of treatment does not demand and passes independently after an absolute recovery of the patient.

The hepatomegalia of a liver can be observed also at children at disturbance of a diet or some autoimmune processes.

Hepatomegalia: reasons

All reasons leading to development of a hepatomegalia of a liver can be divided into three groups:

1. Liver diseases. In this case damage of hepatocytes (liver cells) is observed that starts the mechanism of either fabric hypostasis, or its regeneration. Increase in a liver owing to hypostasis takes place after removal of an inflammation. At the strengthened regeneration of hepatocytes everything is slightly more difficult. At this process only a part of cells of a liver is recovered, and the others are replaced with connecting (cicatricial) fabric. As a result of it the liver gradually increases in sizes and becomes hilly, dense. Various diseases of a liver can become the reasons of a hepatomegalia: autoimmune and viral hepatitis, echinococcosis, polycystosis, cirrhosis and fibrosis, malignant new growths, etc.

2. Accumulation diseases. As a result of disbolism in a liver the glycogen, iron, carbohydrates, fats and other substances leading to increase in the sizes of body begin to collect. The hepatolenticular degeneration, an amyloidosis, a fatty hepatosis, hemochromatosis belong to similar diseases. Many of them are hereditary. But some, for example жировойгепатоз, can result from the general obesity, abuse of alcoholic drinks, long use of some medicines.

3. The cardiovascular diseases which are followed by a circulatory unefficiency and leading to air hunger of hepatocytes and stagnation in a blood liver. In this case death of cells of a liver and development on their place of connecting fabric is the reason of a hepatomegalia.

Hepatomegalia signs

Symptoms of a hepatomegalia of a liver consist in increase in the sizes of this body. Patients can notice that they have a protrusion in the field of the right hypochondrium. But most often the first sign of a hepatomegalia is the complaint to feeling of weight and discomfort in an upper right quadrant of a stomach.

In process of further progressing of a disease signs of a hepatomegalia become more and more noticeable and unpleasant. Nausea, vomiting, heartburn, yellowness of skin and mucous membranes, an unpleasant smell from a mouth, petekhialny rash and an itch of skin join feeling of discomfort in the right side. The latest sign of a hepatomegalia is development of ascites – accumulation of liquid in an abdominal cavity.

Hepatomegalia: treatment

As the reasons of a hepatomegalia are various, and therapy begins only after the exact etiological factor which led to development of this symptom is established. Treatment of a hepatomegalia is carried out only under observation of the doctor and is complex.

The purpose of medicamentous therapy is suppression of the pathological processes leading to increase in a liver. In addition, observance of a special diet with restriction of fats and carbohydrates is obligatory. When accumulation diseases are the reason of a hepatomegalia, it is necessary to exclude from a diet as much as possible those products which cannot be correctly acquired by an organism.

At development of a heavy liver failure carry out transplantation (change) of a liver.