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Von Meyenburg complexes in a patient with obstructive jaundice

Vipin Gupta and Govind Makharia
Med J Aust 2017; 207 (6): . || doi: 10.5694/mja16.01344
Published online: 18 September 2017

Biliary hamartomas were an incidental finding in a 33-year-old man who was investigated for recurrent episodes of biliary colic. A T2-weighted coronal image showed multiple small hyperintense lesions of similar size scattered in both lobes of the liver (Figure). Biliary microhamartomas (von Meyenburg complexes) are rare and usually multiple. They occur because of ductal plate malformation and are composed of dilated intralobular and interlobular bile ducts.1 They generally remain asymptomatic and do not affect liver functions, and are most commonly detected incidentally.2 Differential diagnosis of this rare clinical entity includes multiple simple liver cysts, Caroli disease and, less commonly, metastatic liver disease (with necrosis).


  • All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, New Delhi, India


Correspondence: govindmakharia@gmail.com

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

  • 1. Desmet VJ. Ludwig symposium on biliary disorders — part I. Pathogenesis of ductal plate abnormalities. Mayo Clin Proc 1998; 73: 80-89.
  • 2. Brancatelli G, Federle MP, Vilgrain V, et al. Fibropolycystic liver disease: CT and MR imaging findings. Radiographics 2005; 25: 659-670.

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