Extrahepatic

Echinococcosis remains an endemic disease in countries around the Mediterranean. The most common site of involvement is the liver (60-70%). In this book, we report a previously unpublished study of intra-abdominal extrahepatic hydatid cysts involving 34 patients. Clinically, the main symptom was abdominal pain (80%). Physical examination revealed an abdominal mass in half of the patients. The diagnosis was based on imaging, which confirmed a cystic formation in all cases. Other findings included peripheral calcifications (51%) and daughter cysts (48%). Echinococcal serology was positive in 60% of cases. Type III was the most common (44.1%). The most common sites were the spleen (29.4%), the psoas muscle (23.5%), and the pancreas (20.6%). Laparotomy was the approach used in the majority of patients (70%). Surgical treatment was either conservative, based on resection of the protruding dome, or radical. Five patients (14.7%) developed postoperative complications, all of which were infectious. Three patients (10%) experienced a recurrence.