Surgical treatment of hydatid cysts of the lung: report on 1055 patients

Abstract

Of 1055 patients treated surgically for pulmonary hydatid disease, most (950) had isolated lung cysts, the other 105 having both liver and lung cysts. The chest radiograph was most valuable in diagnosis; the Casoni and Weinberg tests and blood eosinophil counts were found to be diagnostically unreliable. One thousand and seventy seven primary operations were performed. Cystotomy and capitonnage were carried out in 906 patients, 40 of whom also had decortication of the pleura. Other procedures included cystotomy with wedge resection of locally damaged lung (29 patients) and cyst removal with capitonnage by Ugon's method (33) or the Perez-Fontana procedure (8) and with costal resection for osteomyelitis in two cases. More radical surgery was carried out in 99 patients for longstanding infection or severe lung destruction. Postoperative complications occurred in 37 patients (3.5%) and the 30 day mortality rate was 1.7%. It is concluded that a lung conserving surgical operation is the treatment of choice for most patients with pulmonary hydatid disease. In patients with coexisting liver cysts the thoracic transpleural approach allowed the lung and liver cysts to be removed at the same session.