Complication of hemothorax after CT-guided percutaneous biopsy of herniated liver masquerading as a pulmonary mass

Hemothorax is a rare complication of percutaneous needle biopsy in the chest at a rate of 0.092%. Rarer yet is diaphragm injury with herniation of intra-abdominal organs. The patient was a 56-year-old female undergoing evaluation for primary lung cancer diagnosis requiring lung mass biopsy. The largest pulmonary nodule was biopsied, which abutted the right hemidiaphragm with the complication of hemothorax. Angiography demonstrated that the source of bleeding was not attributed to intercostal artery injury. Pathology revealed that benign hepatic tissue was sampled. Based on the pathology results, angiographic findings, and detailed review of cross-sectional imaging, the tissue is consistent with herniated liver through the right hemidiaphragm mistaken to be a pulmonary nodule.