Partial and complete atrophy affecting hepatic segments and lobes

Thirty-four patients with atrophic lesions of liver segments or lobes are described. The primary diagnoses included alcoholic liver disease, various forms of cirrhosis, hydatid disease, tumours and sclerosing cholangitis. Seventeen patients had complete atrophy of the segment or lobe and the other 17 patients had partial atrophy (i.e. a reduction of at least 50 per cent in the size of the affected area). Complete atrophy affected the left lobe more frequently than the right. The condition is important, first, because it is more common than is generally recognized, and second, because it may create considerable diagnostic and therapeutic problems.