[Tumor seeding of the abdominal wall after fine needle cytologic puncture of the liver. Apropos of a case].

Tumor seeding of the abdominal wall during fine needle puncture-aspiration of the liver is a very rare complication. The authors report a case of this complication affecting a 50-year-old Senegalese woman. She underwent echo-guided fine needle cyto-puncture of a hepatocellular carcinoma arising from the left lobe, followed by left lobectomy. The subcutaneous nodule was discovered 42 months after cyto-puncture. Histology following its excision revealed infiltration of carcinomatous hepatocytes between the fibers of rectus abdominis. There was no recurrence and the patient was well 10 months after excision of the subcutaneous nodule. With a review of 10 others cases reported in the literature, the authors feel that, although rare, this complication must be avoided and suggest a system for the protection of structures through which the needle passes.