Infarction of an Accessory Lobe of the Liver

Accessory lobes of the liver are noted infrequently at necropsy or as an incidental finding at the time of abdominal surgery. These lobes rarely give rise to conditions requiring surgical intervention. Accessory lobes of the liver are small and may be attached to the liver by a mesentery or liver parenchyma. These lobes are generally attached to the undersurface of the liver and are noted on the right more frequently than on the left. Accessory lobes have been noted arising separately from the gall bladder and gastrohepatic ligament and in the suspensory ligament.²

Only two previous cases could be found in the literature in which an accessory lobe of the liver produced manifestations demanding surgical intervention.^1,3 Fraser³ reported an accessory lobe of the liver, 12 cm. in diameter, presenting as a palpable abdominal mass. Exploration was required to determine the true etiology of the mass. Cullen,¹ in 1925, reported the