Unexplainable development of a hydatid cyst

Isolated primary subcutaneous hydatid in right hypochondrium region: Case report

INTRODUCTION

Hydatid cyst (HC) disease is a serious health problem in endemic areas, solitary primary subcutaneous hydatid cyst is not frequent and the only symptom is generally a silent growing mass. Total excision remains the mainstay of treatment. The aim of the study was to present a case surgically treated.

CASE PRESENTATION

48-year-old female farmer presented with HC of the right hypochondrium who was managed surgically.

DISCUSSION

The mechanism of primary subcutaneous localization is unclear. There are two potential mechanisms; (a) direct subcutaneous contamination through an injured skin or (b) subcutaneous colonization of ingested eggs after passing liver and lungs. I believe that subcutaneous colonization of the parasite in the circulation after ingestion is an only reliable mechanism than the other contact theory, because of the cases in literature occur without any direct contamination.

CONCLUSION

Primary subcutaneous hydatid cyst must always be considered in the differential diagnosis of silent growing mass in soft tissues or subcutaneous. History and physically associated with ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are sufficient to achieve a correct preoperative diagnosis.

Parietal complication of the hydatid disease: Comprehensive literature review

BACKGROUND

The aim of the study was to provide an overview of the medical literature on parietal complications of hydatid disease (HD).

METHODS

A literature search was conducted on PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and Google databases in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, using keywords to identify articles related to parietal complications of HD in the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The following keywords were used: HD, hydatid cyst, cystic echinococcosis, alveolar echinococcosis, abdominal HD, thoracic HD, parietal complication, cutaneous fistulization, cystocutaneous fistulization, cutaneous involvement, external rupture, external fistulization, subcutaneous involvement, and subcutaneous abscess. The language of publication, journal, or country was not included as limitation criteria, and publications dated before August 1, 2016, were considered. Articles or abstracts containing adequate information, such as age, sex, cyst size, cyst location, clinical presentation, fistula opening location, and management were included in the study, whereas articles with insufficient clinical and demographic data were excluded.

RESULTS

The literature review included 52 articles involving 55 patients with parietal complications of HD. Thirty-two articles were written in English, 15 in French, 2 in Spanish, 1 in Italian, 1 in German and 1 in Russian. All 55 patients (women, 30; men, 23; unknown, 2) involved in the study were aged 7 to 93 (mean ± standard deviation, 54.5 ± 20.2) years. A total of 24 patients had cysto-cutaneous fistula (Echinococcus granulosus), 12 had subcutaneous rupture, 10 had cutaneous fistula (E multilocularis), 3 had cystosubcutaneous abscess, 3 had cysto-cutaneo-bronchial fistula, 2 had cysto-cutaneo-bronchio-biliary fistula, and 1 had cutaneo-bronchial fistula. E granulosus were detected in 43 and E multilocularis in 12 patients through clinical, radiological, or histopathological examinations.

CONCLUSION

Parietal complications such as cysto-cutaneous fistulization are a rare complication of HD. Complicated HD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with cutaneous involvement, especially in HD endemic regions.

Synchronous adenocarcinoma and echinococcosis in the same ovary: a rare clinical entity

BACKGROUND

Serous adenocarcinoma is the most common subtype of ovarian carcinoma, while ovarian echinococcosis is a rare disease of the female genital system. The simultaneous presence of adenocarcinoma and echinococcosis in the same ovary is extremely rare and little data exist regarding diagnosis and treatment approach.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the present paper, we report a rare case of a 66-year-old Greek Caucasian woman of rural origin, with an adnexal mass, ascitic and pleural fluid. The patient underwent exploratory laparotomy following neoadjuvant chemotherapy, based on positive for malignancy pleural and ascitic fluid cytology results.

RESULTS

Histological examination of the surgical specimen indicated the synchronous presence of echinococcosis and adenocarcinoma in the same ovary.

CONCLUSIONS

Ovarian hydatid cyst is extremely rare, but should be suspected in patients with echinococcosis in other organs and those coming from endemic areas. Moreover, the disease could mimic ovarian cancer, as there are no specific symptoms and clinical signs. The coexistence of these two diseases in the same ovary, although rare, is possible. It seems that the presence of the hydatid cyst does not change the treatment approach of the malignancy so that surgery with neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy, according to the present guidelines, should be administered. Hippokratia 2015, 19 (1): 89-91.

Spontaneous external fistula: the rarest presentation of hydatid cyst

A 65-year-old man with hydatid disease of the liver presented with a spontaneous cutaneous rupture draining about 10 L of fluid with daughter cysts. Contrast-enhanced CT showed multiple hypodense areas in the residual right lobe of the liver and abdominal wall with compensatory hypertrophy of the left lobe, confirming the diagnosis of a hydatid cyst presenting as external fistulisation which represents a very advanced stage of hydatid disease. Once the patient's nutritional status improved he was taken for surgery. On laparotomy there were multiple cysts seen in the residual right lobe of the liver and inflammatory changes in the abdominal wall with an external fistulous opening. Right-lobe hepatectomy was carried out along with excision of the fistulous tract. The specimen showed multiple degenerated contents of the cyst with numerous daughter cysts along the fistulous tract and examination of cyst fluid demonstrated protoscolices. The postoperative period was uneventful. He was regularly followed and was doing well.

Cutaneous fistula of liver echinococcal cyst previously misdiagnosed as fistulizated rib osteomyelitis

External fistulization or subcutaneous rupture of liver echinococcal cyst (EC) is found occasionally with total of 15 cases reported in the literature. We report a case of 60-year-old female previously misdiagnosed as fistulizated osteomyelitis of the 11^th rib. At computed tomography scan, non-vital EC was noted in the third liver segment. Under suspicion of external fistulization of perforated EC the patient underwent one-stage operation-pericystectomy and complete fistula excision. A retrospective analysis of the reported cases in the literature was performed with special references to classifying this rare entity. The main purpose of this report is to highlight the possibility of such a diagnosis when cutaneous fistula occurs in a same anatomic area with hydatid EC, even that cyst is proven to be calcified. We emphasize the role of a swift and radical surgical procedure including complete fistula excision to prevent secondary dissemination and post-operative complications.